


Protect the World from Devastation

by JeckParadox



Series: Worm AUs [6]
Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alt-Power Taylor Hebert, Brockton Bay, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mad Science, Pokemon, Team Rocket (Pokemon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-01-04 08:49:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21194933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeckParadox/pseuds/JeckParadox
Summary: Taylor triggers as a Tinker, with a peculiar specialization. In her mind are designs for a strange device, a ball, that when thrown at something, will capture it and transform it into an intelligent, loyal, and powerful monster. It works on just about anything, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral. But curiously, not on humans.However, that doesn't stop her from throwing one at Lung when she's cornered, discovering the more dangerous side of her devices: While it can't capture a Parahuman, it can capture their power. After stealing Lung's power from him and turning it into a gigantic fire-breathing monster on *her* side, and having already been branded a criminal in the eyes of the law due to a few... accidents during her earlier crime-fighting attempts, she realizes that there's an opportunity to be had.She takes over the ABB, and rebrands the gang. Giving them a new name, new rules, and by handing out Pokemon to its members, a huge boost in power. The newly-minted Team Rocket will take the Bay by storm.





	1. Chapter 1

I was honestly terrible at being a hero. To the point where I was considered more of a villain by most people you could ask. Which wasn't an entirely unfair belief, considering my very first night out as a 'hero' about four months ago ended up with me accidently crumpling a police car, among other assorted property damage, when I lost control of my rampaging rock monster. 

But I've done better since then! I've gotten my monsters all properly trained, only moving when I give the command, only attacking the things I point at, and stopping right when I tell them. I've been sticking to attacking criminals, when I could find them, and, uh, mugging them. But it was okay to mug muggers, right? How _else_ did a superhero make money? 

And considering how much it costs to just make _one_ of my capture balls, I _needed_ the money.

But despite the fact I've only gone after criminals since that disastrous first night four months ago, my reputation hasn't improved. Maybe because I accidently hospitalized a few of them, rather than just knocking them out, but I learned from those mistakes too.

I wouldn't give up. 

Tonight was a lot like the last few, meaning I was prowling around the docks, looking for trouble. This area was well-known for ABB ambushes; small groups of gang members that would descend on passers-by or stop cars, and then rob them of everything they had. Sometimes do worse things to them. Most people stayed away for those reasons, but some people couldn't afford to, or just didn't know, or thought that they could risk it this one time. 

I was here to hopefully help people like that. 

I didn't have any of my monsters out at the moment, as they would all stand out from a distance, and would draw attention through various means. Even the one that looked the most like a normal animal would stick out if you actually looked at it for more than a second. 

I moved quickly and quietly, sticking close to corners and under shades, relying on shadows and my dark outfit to keep me hidden. It wasn't a very complicated outfit. Just black pants and a black shirt and jacket, although I recently added a red "R" to the vest of it to match the name that the PRT ended up giving me for my little stunt. "Rocket Rider" isn't what I would have picked as a name, but "Monster Master" or something similar would have sounded just as silly and probably more villainous than the moniker I ended up with. I think it was a pun based on the fact that my monster was both made of rock, and moving _very_ quickly. 

To hide my identity, I kept my hair, my most recognizable feature, bundled up in a black cap, and had a simple domino mask on my face. 

I continued my walk, when I spotted an area that wasn't just covered in shadows, but had gone completely dark. No lights from the windows, nothing. The only light came when someone lit up a cigarette, and I saw briefly that he was asian, and wearing red and green. 

And he had friends, dressed in the same festive colors.

ABB then. 

I took a steadying breath, and then moved closer. My hand moved to my pockets, and I felt for each of the capture balls I owned. I had stuck differently shaped stick-on beads in different patterns onto each ball so that I could tell each ball apart by touch. Which to go for first? Charge in with my biggest monster right from the start? Use something more subtle?

I had four monsters on me at the moment, although only three I was willing to use. I had just caught the fourth earlier tonight, after all. Besides that, I had two more capture balls that were currently empty. 

The first was Rhyhorn, a huge triceratops or rhino-like monster with skin made of stone, covered in spikes, and able to run as fast as a car, and hit a _lot_ harder. He was the first one I created, after testing out my very first capture ball on a piece of concrete. It wasn't a big piece of concrete, only about twice the size of my shoe, but Rhyhorn ended up bigger than a motorcycle all the same. He could run extremely fast, although the only way to get him to start once he started was forcefully sending him back to the ball. I didn't know that, the first time I tried riding him, and thus, the police car incident. 

After seeing that it worked on inanimate objects, I tested to see what it would do to a living thing, since I heard that most Capes had powers that either effected only living things, or only inanimate things. So I spent sixteen bucks on a guinea pig, and significantly more on guinea pig food, a cage, water bottle, dish, etc. Although I don't regret buying them, since they've been useful since. Besides, all of them cost less than the materials I needed to make just one capture ball, so I couldn't really complain. That got me my second monster, Nidoran. After I dropped the capture ball onto the guinea pig, she vanished into light, just like the concrete, and what I got when I opened the ball again was different, just like with Rhyhorn. The guinea pig had increased in size, becoming almost a foot tall, her skin turning a light purple color, and once again, becoming covered in spikes. Spikes that I didn't realize were actually extremely poisonous until a mugger got too close to me for Nidoran's liking, and it launched one soaked in purple liquid at him out of her head. He dropped quick, and I called an ambulance rather than the police. He lived, but according to the report I read later, he had gone into a coma from it.

The third monster was the most 'normal-looking' one. I found an abandoned kitten in a box, and decided to use a capture ball on her. Out came a larger kitten, but a kitten all the same, although with slightly weird proportions, no nose, and a shiny golden coin fixed to her skull. As far as her abilities went, she was very fast and very strong, but essentially did what a cat does. She's able to bite and scratch hard enough to leave holes in brickwork though, and moved fast and precise enough that I could order her to take out weapons, and she could. Just zip over to a criminal and knock the weapon from their hand before they could blink. She was called Meowth. 

The one I captured tonight, however, I didn't know much about. I found a puppy in the park- and obvious stray. It was thin and covered in mud. I used my capture ball on him, and out came a creature calling itself Houndour. Like with Meowth, he didn't change too much, he was still recognizably a dog, although he was much bigger than he was before. Additionally, his fur gained a healthy sheen, and he doesn't look starved. He did grow plates of bone from his head, back, and paws though.

I decide to go for Meowth, first, in the probable circumstance that they have weapons.

I draw her ball, and move closer, until I'm practically right around the corner from the small group of ABB. I'm about to hit the button on the sphere, release my monster, and give the usual order- take out the weapons, when they start moving. 

I hold off, and watch as they move deeper into the alley, to the street on the other side, where I see more activity. A lot of them. More than I felt confident in handling with just Meowth. I began looking for their boss as well. With groups this big, one of the ABB's leaders probably wasn't far behind. 

I didn't see anyone who stood out, at first, until a group cleared away from a doorway, and let the man I had been afraid of through. Six feet tall, face hidden behind an ornate steel mask. Shirtless, to show off his tattoos in the moonlight.

One of, if not _the,_ toughest Capes in the Bay, Lung. 

He began giving orders, and I crept closer, tensing as weapons are drawn. Knives, crowbars, bats, _guns. _Meowth would be able to take care of those, at least the closest one or two, but after that, I wasn't as confident. I had never had to face a group this size. Let alone another Parahuman. I wasn't ready for this. I debate whether to just back off or not, but curiosity made me move closer, bit by bit. I went around the building, and found a stairwell. I climbed up, and once I was on the roof, I moved to the corner overlooking the meeting. Once I found out what they were going to do, I could back off, find a payphone, and tell the police, the Protectorate, anyone who would listen, that Lung and a lot of his followers were up to something. 

I listened, trying to parse his words through the accent and the distance, and once I understood, I felt sick.

“…the children, just shoot. Doesn’t matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?”

I couldn't run, then. The group, the lynch mob for whatever children Lung had taken issue with, was already set up and equipped. They would move out soon. The kids could be on the other side of town, or they could live a few blocks down. Hell, they might be living in my neighborhood. There were kids in my high school that were known ABB members. It was something quietly accepted at Winslow that you didn't piss off one of those teenage members, because if they felt insulted, they could bring more dangerous members with them. The same went for the E88 kids. 

I couldn't afford to wait around. 

Lung grabbed the arm of one of his subordinates, and seemed to check his watch. Then, he gave another order, and the group began moving. 

I put Meowth's ball back in my pocket, and drew out Rhyhorn instead. I really doubted that Meowth was going to do much to a Cape who could transform into a fire-controlling dragon. 

I back up from the lip of the roof, and hit the button. Red light emerges, drawing the attention of everyone below. Rhyhorn takes form, and I wince as Lung begins shouting orders, and I hear the sounds of guns going off. 

Rhyhorn could take a bullet, I knew. He wasn't immune, exactly, but they didn't go too far into his rocky hide. And from experience, once I got some food into them, my monsters healed just fine. In fact, the only time they _needed_ to eat that I could see was when they were injured. Otherwise, they just seemed to eat for the enjoyment of it.

"Attack!" I order, pointing over the side, and Rhyhorn bellows in agreement, charging forward, shaking the whole building with his steps as he picked up speed, and launched himself over the side towards the gang. 

I hear screams below, and inch forwards, trying to hide my form against the edge of the building, but get a look at everything all the same. 

Rhyhorn had hit the ground hard enough to leave a crater, and hadn't stopped. He knocked aside the luckier ABB as they tried to run and couldn't get out of the way in time, trampling the less lucky ones. Bones would break, I knew, and possibly important parts of them could get stepped on, crushed. But I didn't care about that much at the moment. All of these bastards were going to join their leader, armed to the teeth, and go after _kids._

And with that thought in mind... "Nidoran!" my next monster says cheerfully as I summon her, too. I gesture her to come closer, and so she does, nuzzling against my side as she slides under my arms. Those spikes that brushed against me could be dangerously poisonous and painfully hard if Nidoran wished, but she kept them soft and harmless when she was close to me. 

I point into the crowd, "Poison Sting." I order. The name for the attack felt... natural, almost. The words supplied by the same part of my brain that gave me the hints towards the construction of my capture balls. 

"Ni-nid!" I moved a bit away, and she let the spines all go rigid. She aimed her head down at the panicking gang members, and began to fire the spikes out at them. 

Some hit, some missed. Those that missed clattered harmlessly off the street, while those that hit left men screaming and falling over. It was hard to tell in the firelight, but I remembered well the way that the mugger's skin had gone purple as the seconds after he was stung went by. 

Lung had gotten bigger, growing taller, wider, and somewhat shiny as he began to get a few scales. Fires ignited in the palms of his hands, and he threw them at Rhyhorn, who seemed to more-or-less ignore them. I guess he was fireproof, or close to it. 

He turned in his charge, shoving aside another gang member and making a direct line for Lung, lowering his horn to get the Parahuman boss right in the stomach. Lung could have dodged to the side, but instead he dug in his heels, got even bigger and shiner, and took the attack head-on. Rhyhorn continued to push though, even as Lung got bigger and stronger with each second they went head-on against each other. Fire spilled off the man, washing over Rhyhorn, and while it didn't do too much damage, I could see him flagging. Maybe the heat, or the lack of oxygen was getting to him. I knew that he wouldn't last too much longer, at the very least. 

"Nidoran, Poison Sting. That man." I order, jabbing at Lung in particular. 

"Ni!" she launched another spike, and it flew out in a straight line towards the brightest target on the street. 

The spike clattered uselessly off of Lung's back. It had hit a scale, and more scales were growing with each second. Poison Sting didn't have enough penetrating power. 

"Shit." As he got bigger, the fires got harder, and I began to feel panicked as I heard Rhyhorn groaning in pain, rather than fury. What should I do?! He was my best chance at stopping Lung. 

Maybe I should run now. Maybe his anger at me would be enough to distract from his plans with the kids. 

As I debate that, Rhyhorn collapses. I rush to hit the button on his ball, but to my shock, I don't have to. He turns into light all on his own, returning to the ball before I have time to touch the button. I'm left confused for only a few seconds, before my power, whatever inside my brain made me a tinker, told me that it was normal. That the ball was doing its job, pulling him out once he fainted, before letting the damage get too severe that some food alone wouldn't heal it.

Lung whips his head around, following the path the mass of light Rhyhorn became. I know that I have his full attention by the blast of fire that he sent in my direction. I grabbed Nidoran and ran, rushing for the opposite end of the roof. I managed to reach the stairwell, and started running down, when I see the light cast by Lung's flames along the alley next to the building. He knew that I was on the stairwell, somehow. 

I continue heading downwards anyway, even if it will lead to a collision course with Lung, because staying on the roof would just leave me trapped. 

I'm only halfway down when he whips around the corner, wreathed in flames, shimmering from his scales, his limbs stretched in a way that showed just how inhuman he currently was.

"Poison Sting!" I scream to my monster. 

"Nido!" she confirms, launching a spike at our enemy. It sticks, this time, hitting him in his neck, but he just pulls free the spine, incinerating it as he does so. His neck is briefly purple, but it recedes as the steel scales spread closer to the closing wound. 

"KILL OOH!" he shouts at me threateningly. 

Nidoran wriggles out of my arms as he advances closer to the stairwell, and leaps over the railing before I can stop her. She drops down right onto his face, and began scratching at him furiously with her claws, carving bloody lines into his face which heal quickly. He grabs her, his hand wrapped in fire, and she lets out a painful squeal before she too thankfully is pulled away by the light back into her ball. 

Lung moves forwards, his advance not ceasing, and I can feel the heat of it from here. 

I reach for my last trained monster, releasing Meowth, "Scratch him!" I order. Meowth was a lot faster than Nidoran, but she wouldn't be able to take as many hits. Meowth leaped down from the railing, aiming for what's left of Nidoran's own scratches, but Lung moves quicker, simply jabbing out with a flaming fist and knocking Meowth to the side. 

"IGHT ME ORSELF!" he growls out, ignoring Meowth turning into light as well. 

Well, looks like Houndour is getting a trial by fire. 

I pull the last capture ball, and click the button, letting my monster out. He blinks his black eyes, confused, at me, before turning to look at the enemy. "Houn..." he sounds almost awed. 

I had no idea what it could do, yet. "Attack him!" I order. 

Houndour looks at me in surprise, but moves to do so, opening his mouth and unleashing... a small burst of flame. Just about the worst weapon you could use against Lung. I grab my last monster close to me and run as fast as I can down the steps, before hitting the sidewalk and going as quickly as my legs could carry me. 

"Dour!" Houndour squeaked. With the way I was holding him, he could see over my shoulder, and he seemed terrified. Lung was following us. I took a sharp turn, ran through an alley, turned a corner, and then stopped, trying not to gulp down air too noisily. "Houn?" 

"Shhhh." I say, returning him to the ball to make sure he didn't grab any attention. I sat down next to a garbage can, and tried to hide in its shadow as much as possible. 

I prayed that I lost him. That the random turns had confused where I had gone, at least a little. 

I listened carefully.

More heavy footsteps, coming this way. He wasn't running any more, walking at a leisurely pace.

He turned the corner, stared right at me, and stopped. Our eyes met, and I reached for the pocket I had placed Houndour in, the same with the other three capture balls containing my monsters.

I wasn't quick enough, or rather, he was faster. A fireball formed in his hand in the space of a blink, and he threw it right at me. 

I shrieked, grabbing the garbage can and forcing it in front of me, letting it take the blast, as I scrambled to my feet. I tried for Houndour again, despite what little he could do, but in my rush, I grabbed the wrong ball, I pressed the button, and out came an unconscious Nidoran. I quickly pressed it again, returning her back to safety. As I did so, I started running, but Lung was faster than me. 

He grabbed my arm, wrenching it back, and then reached into the pocket. He pulled out the four full balls, and looked at me more carefully. 

"TINKA?" he managed through his still-inhuman mouth. 

"I..." I was helpless, right now. He was bigger, stronger, and had the power to cover me in flames with a thought, he was holding my monsters, all but one of whom were unconscious. If I fought him now, he'd just kill me. If I play along, I'll live longer, and eventually get a chance to escape. I lost this battle. For now. "Yes." I say, "I am. I built them." 

He grabbed my hat with his other hand, pulling it away and letting my hair fall down. He dropped the four balls into it, before bending it over, making a makeshift bag. 

Or maybe I wasn't as helpless as he thought. He could still fry me in a second, but... I slipped my hand into my other pocket, and pressed the button- the click had him whip his head towards me, fire already surging up around him, ready to kill me, but I completed the motion. 

One of the empty capture balls from my other pocket went flying. It passed through the flames he had brought to bare, but whatever process I had forced the metal through when I built it made it so that the ball survived where I bet a bullet would be melted.

He was only a few feet away, and he was a big target. I hit him dead in the chest, and light washes over him. 

For a moment, I feel sick. I had told myself, when I first made these, that I wouldn't use them on a person. But I don't think I had much of a choice. 

The light pours into the ball, and it falls to the ground, wobbling back and forth as it usually does when processing a capture, the red light warning me not to let whatever was inside it out until it had been fully transformed. 

But something was wrong. Lung was still there. 

Although I'd somehow undone his transformation. 

Then what had- never mind. I'd figure out what had actually gone into the ball later. I duck down to grab it, and then take off running, before stumbling to a stop only a few feet after. My other monsters. He still had them. 

I turn around, and see that Lung hasn't started chasing me. Instead, he's just staring at his arms. He's... shaking. 

"What did you do to me?" he asks, suddenly looking up. 

What did I capture?

The light on the capture ball went off, and I hold it out, pressing the button. Light blasts out of it, taking the form of something easily twice the size of Rhyhorn, closer to a car than a motor cycle. Once it takes shape completely, it drops to the ground with a thud that shakes the whole street. 

It's body reminds me somewhat of a beetle, but one made out of shining steel and molten rock. Cracks in its body shine red-hot with magma underneath.

**"HEATRAN!"** It bellows, unleashing a wave of heat as it opens its mouth. 

I don't take a moment to appreciate my luck, instead, I just point at Lung, "Attack him, but don't hurt the objects he's holding." 

**"HEAT!"** it roars, before moving forwards towards Lung deceptively quickly, for its size. Each stomp of its feet is accompanied by the clang of heavy steel on the road. Lung is caught off-guard, still uncomprehending of what happened, and so doesn't start trying to run until Heatran is practically upon him.

It raises one of its lungs higher than the others, before bringing it down with a heavy thud. The road shatters underneath the blow, and Lung is launched into the air by the force of it. He loses his grip on the hat, and it goes flying. I run towards it, and gather all my capture balls from where they've been scattered. Lung landed with a pained groan not too far away, and begins to get to his feet.

"You- you _stole my power_, you motherfucker!" he accused, "Are all these monsters stolen powers!?"

Is that what happened? 

I look towards my newest monster, Heatran, according to itself, as it approaches. Its glowing red eyes observing Lung carefully. With each thudding step, the air gets hotter. Just being a few feet away from it feels like standing in front of an open oven. 

"This is the first time I've tried it on a human- or rather, a Parahuman." I admit, "You can't use your powers at all?" 

"If I could, you'd be dead!" he hissed, groaning as he stood up, using the nearest wall for support. 

I cross my arms, "Are you sure you want to be making threats right now, Lung?" I ask, feeling suddenly very confident. If what he said was true- then this was big. Really big. I had a weapon that could potentially beat the strongest Capes in the bay, if I had the chance to use it on them. 

**"TRAN HE!" **

Heatran let out a rumble at Lung, and then looked to me. Looking for guidance. It had attacked, after all, and the objects he was holding were unharmed. 

I look at Lung. He's killed people before. The ABB, which he was in charge of, had killed people. Robbed people. Wrecked businesses. Dealt drugs. Kidnapped people, young girls especially, if the worst rumors were true. 

Not... not too many people would complain, if I told Heatran to belch magma at the man in front of me. Hell, I already was a villain, according to most people. A few minutes ago, I had built enough resolve to transform him into an animal, which was basically the same thing. There was nothing he could do to stop me. He had relied on his powers utterly, he had no weapons. 

He was at my mercy. 

Lung stared at me, his eyes filled with frustration, and hatred, but he didn't dare make a move. Not with Heatran's deadly mouth aimed in his direction. 

I open my mouth, about to give the command, but then, I hesitate. My mom wouldn't be proud of me, for doing this. Neither would my Dad, or- well, I don't have anyone else, besides my monsters. But they wouldn't be proud. I could take him to prison, right now. I could become famous for it. This could be my big chance to debut as a hero.

That was what I wanted. To help people. 

"Get up." I order, "Don't run, or Heatran will burn you to death. You've done it to enough people that I'm sure you don't want to end like that." 

Lung gets uneasily to his feet, and raises his arms over his head.

"You're making a big mistake." he growled, "I may not have powers, but I still have power, bitch. You let me go right now, I'll give you a day to leave town. If you don't? My gang will rampage in my absence. I'll take this motherfucking city down with me." 

Heatran's attention suddenly shifts, but I don't follow it, keeping my eyes on Lung. 

I hear a set of heavy thuds somewhere behind me. Reinforcements? 

**"HEATRA!"**

"He's right you know." says a female voice behind me. 

"Heatran." I bark, and my monster's attention turns to me, "Aim at Lung. If he runs away, burn him." 

"**HEAT!"**

I turn, then, to look at the newcomers. More monsters, to my surprise, although not as... _neat_ looking as my own are. My creatures have all come out looking complete, but the creatures I'm looking at now... I can't tell whether they're reptilian, canid, or feline. They're covered in exposed flesh and spikes of bone. They're also all bigger than Heatran. 

And... there are people on their backs.

One of them slides off, a man with a skull-faced helmet, wearing nothing but black. He walks towards me, and I tense, releasing Houndour from his ball, "Stay back." 

"Dour!" my second-newest capture barks threateningly. 

He raises his hands in a placating gesture, "Hey, no need to worry." he said, "We're on your side. You saved us a lot of trouble tonight, fighting Lung like you did." 

Wait... _"You're_ the kids." 

He drops his arms, "What?"

One of the other monster-riders slipped down as well, a girl with blonde hair and a skintight black and purple suit, "Bingo!" she says cheerfully, "Thanks for the save."

"Rocket, right?" asked the man in the skull helmet.

"Red Rocket." said another boy, still on one of the monstrous creatures. 

"Rocket Rider." the blonde corrects, annoyed, "I meant what I said, though. He's right." 

"Right about what?" I ask.

She eyed Lung for a bit, and then stared at me, hard. She shook her head in disbelief, before smiling, "I _was_ going to say that if you killed him, that really would happen. The ABB would self-destruct without Lung, and take a good chunk of the Bay with it as it fell apart." 

"And we disapprove of killing in general." the skull-helmeted man said, turning to the girl, "Which is why I'm wondering why you put emphasis on the _was,_ Tattletale." 

"Oh, she's not going to kill him unless he does something stupid." the woman, Tattletale, said, "Although, I'm seeing a different option for you now. Grue, could you give us a moment, I'm about to hand out some life advice, and I think Rocket here will want some privacy."

He looked between us, "Fine. Thanks for the help, again. If you ever need a favor, come to the Undersiders, we owe you one. Fighting Oni Lee was bad enough, but because of you, we didn't have to fight Lung and his whole gang too." he headed back to the group's own set of monsters, climbing on. 

There were three of the monstrous creatures, and four Undersiders. Tattletale and Grue had introduced themselves, but the other two had remained mostly silent- beside the red rocket quip. 

"You should give up on being a Ward." Tattletale says quietly, "It's not going to happen, or not the way you'd like."

"How did you know I wanted to be a hero?"

"Knowing is my thing." she said, "But it won't end well. For one thing, the heroes are going to go for the KO first, ask questions later, and if you do intend on making some kind of deal to join the Wards, you'll want to do it from a position of power, not from inside a cell, otherwise the PRT is going to steamroll you and make you agree to some kind of crazy deal. And once they know what you can do to other Parahumans, they're going to work you to the bone doing some real questionable stuff. You're going to have a big target painted on your back, if you follow this path." 

"They wouldn't do that." I protest.

"Are you sure? This is kind of a dream come true for them. Being able to strip a Parahuman of their powers permanently? Being able to do it with _relatively_ cheap tinkertech? Being able to keep on using that Parahuman's power set without having to deal with the pesky 'human' part of Parahuman? They'll start an all-out war with every villain in North America, and nobody would win after that." 

That... that sounded kind of plausible, actually, "So... what? Just keep working on my own?" 

"No, no, that won't work too well either." she said, "For one thing, you're a Tinker. That means you can't protect yourself too well, and it means you need money, and a lab, and all kinds of things that are difficult to keep secret and difficult to protect, and you make things that others can use without your say-so. Not many Tinkers last long on their lonesome. No, you need support." 

"Are you asking me to join _your_ group?" 

"I wouldn't be _opposed."_ she said, grinning, "Our team could use a heavy-hitter. And we could definitely provide what you're lacking." Before I could answer however, she flinched at the sound of a motorcycle in the distance, and sighed, looking to the rest of her group, "Heads up. We've gotta scram. Hero incoming." she pulled out a plastic zip-tie from her pocket, "For Lung. Although... it might be better to let him go." 

"What!?" 

"The PRT bring him in, they're going to know what you can do." she said, "Are you sure you're ready for that?" she shrugged, and then climbed up on one of the monstrous creatures. 

"See you, Rocket." Grue says, before the girl who hadn't said anything whistled, urging her own monsters onwards, up to the nearest roof, and then out of sight. The sound of the motorcycle drew closer. 

I looked at Lung, and gripped the zip-tie harder. 

The gang leader hadn't been close enough to hear our conversation, thankfully, and it looked like his fury hasn't dampened in the slightest. 

The motorcycle was getting closer. 

I pressed the button on Heatran's ball, my strongest monster vanishing from view, but I kept Houndour out. Lung relaxed slightly although he mostly just looked confused. "...I haven't decided what to do with you, yet." I told him, "But neither of us want to meet Armsmaster right now. So... do you know anywhere nearby where we can lie low and talk this out?"

"Talk this out!? You _stole my powers!"_ he marched up to me, "I'm not going to be satisfied until you're-" 

"Ember." 

Lung flinched as the burst of flame washed over him. He cried out, falling to the ground and rolling. 

"Houndour!" my monster barked, before growling at Lung. 

"This isn't a negotiation. Safehouse. Now." 

He looked up at me, and our eyes made contact. 

I didn't flinch, I wasn't bluffing. I was barely guilty. This was just a taste of his own medicine, at worst. 

He groaned, "Fine. Neither of us want to deal with the Protectorate. But this isn't over, white bitch." he promised, walking quickly away. He broke into a run not long after, and I hurried after him, returning Houndour to his ball. 

Tattletale had made a good point. Knowing what I did now about my power, and considering everything that's already happened, the Wards are probably a ship that's already sailed. But at the same time, I didn't see myself with the Undersiders. Grue seemed nice enough, but Tattletale rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn't have a good impression of the other two yet. 

As for what they could do for me... it was tempting. A place to make a proper lab. Money to make proper tools, materials to make as many capture balls as I wanted... but at the same time, if I was willing to _consider_ them as an option, it meant that they weren't my only one.

I grew up around here, more than that, my Dad grew up around here. He told me of the old days in Brockton Bay. Dad told me how nervous he had been when Lung first arrived in the Bay, in the wake of Kyushu. How he joined the ABB, which then, was only one gang among many that based itself in the docks. How Lung began taking control of the whole area, absorbing every other gang there, taking all their territory and money, and then throwing away any members that weren't Asian. 

All those gangs used to hate each other, and fight constantly. That they fought, hard, to avoid being assimilated into Lung's growing empire. 

The ABB isn't held together out of some ideology like the Empire 88 or the Merchants. It's not held together out of loyalty towards their boss. Hell, it's not even held together by racial ties any more. The gang was mostly Japanese, but there were members of every ethnicity that could be considered 'Asian'. 

No, the only thing that held the ABB together was Lung's power. 

And _I'm_ the one who has Lung's power now.

As he leads me to a safehouse, I smile to myself. 

I'm not going to give up helping people. If I decide it's too risky to try doing that as a member of the Wards, I can do it as the ruler of the docks, instead...

Too bad I don't know the first thing about running a gang. 


	2. Chapter 2

"B-Boss! Welcome." it was just an ordinary corner store. The kind that sold magazines, cigarettes, soda, and not much else. The shop keeper was a middle-aged man, and kept a carefully neutral expression on his face, making a short, polite bow to the gang boss. "What may I do for you?"

"I need to use your back room." Lung said.

There was no hesitation, the man hurried to lift the barrier between the register counter and the rest of the little store. Lung walked through, and then went through to the back room. I followed without saying anything, and the man didn't even look at me, carefully keeping his eyes down. 

He closed the door to the back room after me, and Lung sat down in a nearby swivel chair, and promptly groaned, putting his hand over his mask. 

The gang leader was eerily quiet, despite the sheer rage he had displayed only a few minutes previous. He let out a pained sigh, and leaned further into the chair. 

Actually... that's kind of worrying. I took his power, and it might not just be as simple as that. Parahumans had a weird extra part of their brain, that helps control their powers. What happened to that part of his head after stealing his power? Did it vanish? Was _that_ what went inside the ball and got transformed into Heatran? Every other capture ball absorbed some amount of physical matter. Was this migraine the first sign that he has a dangerous empty space in his brain where before there was an important part?

Lung swore under his breath. 

Or maybe it's just a stress headache. 

Either way, he doesn't seem up for a conversation just quite yet. 

I wander through the breakroom, before coming across a few boxes of canned soda. I haven't tried it yet... but I don't see why it couldn't hurt. Besides, now that the fighting was over, at least for a little bit, I had a duty to my team. 

I took each ball, and hit the button, releasing my monsters. The breakroom wasn't huge, but it did have enough open space for my monsters to at least sit together in the middle of the room. Rhyhorn groaned in pain as soon as he finished appearing, still not conscious, while the others were all silent in their unconsciousness. Houndour and Heatran, for the moment, were staying in their balls. Neither was injured, after all.

I ripped open one of the boxes of soda. I began feeling slightly guilty that I was basically stealing from a corner store, but then I reminded myself I might have killed people earlier tonight, and this wasn't that big of a deal. Taking one of the cans, I lifted it near Rhyhorn's nose, and cracked the tab. He began to sniff as the smell of soda wafted past him. One of the strange aspects of my monsters was that they could heal their injuries fairly quickly just by eating and drinking. Having them drink purified water (straight from the tap didn't cut it, for some reason) was the quickest way, but food worked healed as well, especially fruit. 

Since soda was basically just water and syrup, I bet it would do the same. I held open Rhyhorn's huge mouth. 

"You did so good, Rhyhorn." I say softly, "You kicked ass. Now, let's have a drink, huh big guy?" 

One eye flickered open, and he let out a low "Rhyyyyy...." 

He opened his mouth, and I poured in the soft drink. 

Bullet wounds began to rapidly close, cracks in his rock armor sealed, burn marks vanished. Not all the way, though. I crack a second can, and pour that in too, Rhyhorn standing up and opening his eyes fully, now. A third can healed him completely. 

He nuzzled into me, groaning in a pleased fashion, before turning towards Lung. I followed my monster's gaze towards the gang leader, and see that he's staring at me. 

"He's okay for now, Rhyhorn." I assure my monster, giving him a pat on the head. 

"Horn." my monster grunted, accepting it, before settling down on the floor, part of his huge head pressed against my side. Sighing, I gave in, and sank down to the floor as well, letting him rest more of his giant head on my lap. God, he's heavy, but he loves this. I rub his head slightly, and he closes his eyes. Opening another can of soda, I pull Nidoran closer, and tip the drink into her mouth as well. One can is enough to wake her up, and a second is enough to clear up all the burns. She glares at Lung, and even when I pet her to try and calm her down, her spines don't soften, and she refuses to break her glare with the gang leader for long. 

Last, but certainly not least, is Meowth. Like Nidoran, he doesn't need much to wake him up, but he calms down the quickest, after some thorough petting. 

It takes a few minutes to check over each of my original three monsters for any remaining injuries, and to calm them down after the biggest fight of their short lives. When I turn my attention back to Lung, I freeze up. 

He's not moving. 

Holding Nidoran in my arms, ready to fire if he makes a wrong move, I inch closer. 

He's breathing, I can tell, and he's also sweating. His eyes, visible through the holes in his helmet, are wrenched shut. His fingers begin twitching. 

I have no idea what to do. This is probably something my capture ball caused, probably something wrong with his brain. And if it is... I can't fix it. I'm not that kind of Tinker. I'm no surgeon. He isn't reacting violently, but he isn't really reacting to anything else, either. I poke him in the chest, and he doesn't show a sign of noticing. 

"Lung?" nothing. "Lung, wake up." 

There's no response at all. Just more slight twitching.

Crap.

* * *

"So... run this by me again." 

"It all started as a miscommunication." I say, "I heard Lung say he was going to kill some kids, so I sent my monsters in to fight. I wouldn't have gone against the ABB otherwise. I took out of most of the unpowered people with Lung, but then he defeated most of my monsters." this much was true, "But then, when I showed him my last monster- one I only let fight other Parahumans, he was impressed. He offered to let me join the ABB." all technically true. At least, I was pretty sure he was going to try and force me to join. Why else would he stop trying to actively kill me when he realized I was a Tinker?

"Hm." he said, unimpressed. 

"And then the Undersiders showed up, and I realized that the 'kids' he was talking about were them. They ran away before we could try fighting them, but they let us know that Armsmaster was coming, probably to make sure we wouldn't chase them." this part wasn't as truthful, "Lung took me to the Pocket Mart, and we hid out in the back room. I began focusing on healing my monsters, while Lung sat down in the chair." 

"And then?" 

"He collapsed." 

"And you don't know how or why?" the man asked again, "Are you sure? You didn't do anything to him? The Undersiders didn't do anything to him?" 

"I don't think so." I say, "My power doesn't have anything to do with making people sick, I just create monsters." 

"You're a bio-tinker." he said, "You could have built _something_ that could make Lung sick." the man says, narrowing his eyes. 

"I wouldn't have tried to get help for him, then! I could have just let him die."

"Unless your goal in all this is to infiltrate the ABB to begin with." he says, arching a brow.

I sigh.

After asking Daiya to get some medical assistance for Lung, along came an unmarked van filled with more ABB members, and a doctor they've managed to recruit. Lung was being seen to in the back of a small-time clinic, hopefully helping survive whatever my Capture ball did to him. Meanwhile, the ABB members that came along were trying to corner me as best they could. 

Although, they weren't doing an especially good job of it. 

There weren't very many of them, only five, and of the group, only one of them was brave enough to actually question my story, or even talk to me. The others just kept a suspicious eye on Nidoran, who hasn't left my shoulder. 

"Why aren't there more ABB here?" I ask, "Why are you the only one who came?" 

"I'm Daiya's contact." he said, "The lieutenant who runs this little section of ABB territory. Archer." he was a Japanese man who kept his hair was kept stylized; short, spiky, and dyed green. Unlike the others, he carried himself with confidence, and he was clearly doing some thinking. He didn't believe my story one bit, even the true parts. Because, admittedly, it doesn't make much sense. 

"Archer? Is that a cape name?" 

"No." he said, frowning, "It's just my name." 

"Look, trust me or not, I'm a strong Tinker who wants to join your gang. When Lung wakes up, he'll corroborate my story. But until then, do you want my help or not?" 

"And if Lung _doesn't_ wake up?" 

"Then you'll need more help than ever anyway, won't you?" I press. 

Suddenly, he began to smile. "That's true enough, isn't it?" he looks to his followers, and his smile seems to be as surprising to them as it was to me, "Boys, I need you to find me a place in our territory that can house large animals without it being obvious from the outside." 

The closest grunt blinked, "Uh, do you mean 'our' territory, or the ABB?" 

_"Our_ our." He clarified, before looking at me, "I think we should probably keep her membership on the down-low until we're sure whether the boss is going to get better or worse." 

"What do we say about Lung?" another of the grunts asked.

"The only people who know Lung is sick are us, the doctors, and that old grandpa at the Pocket Mart. The old man is too cowardly to spread around that he saw the boss in a vulnerable state, the doctors know better, and _we_ know better. Safer for him, and better for the gang's morale, that nobody know exactly where Lung is right now." he looks at me, "Right?" 

"I guess that makes sense." I say, frowning, suspicious of how supportive Archer is suddenly. 

"Until we find a place for you to do your tinkering, you can stay at my place." he led me out of the back room of the clinic, and back towards the van. The other grunts were staying behind, making calls on their cellphones. 

"What's with the change in attitude?" I ask, closing the door behind me as I sit in the passenger seat. I put a hand into my pocket, and keep a thumb on Heatran's ball's button, the same way I did when I got into the van the first time. 

He sits in the driver's seat, and starts the engine, "I smell opportunity." he said honestly, "I was part of the group Lung gathered for his revenge on the Undersiders. I've seen you fight. I saw you lead Lung away. I was certain you were going to be dead, the next I heard of you. Instead, here you are. Unharmed, with Lung in a coma. You took out our boss, but instead of running away or flaunting it, you're trying to use it as a bargaining chip to join."

"I don't see where the opportunity for you is." 

"Simple! Law of the jungle, nowadays. The strongest Cape always ends up in charge eventually, which means you. Under Lung, I was just one of dozens of leaders of little gangs who joined the ABB at fireball-point. Under you, I could be more, I think. Provided we get off on a good foot right now. You were lucky, to go to Daiya's and not some other safehouse. They would have called a higher-up lieutenant, who would have called the Oni."

That... might not have ended up well. I've heard stories that Oni Lee is a sociopath. If he found me standing on top of an unconscious Lung, he probably would have suicide-bombed first, asked questions later. I might have had to take his power too. I still had one Capture Ball left empty, after all. 

Archer smiles, "You aren't afraid of him, either, are you? Good! Then I'm right." 

"You're making a lot of presumptions." 

"Maybe." he admitted, "But I'm a betting man. It feels like something good dropped into my lap, and I'm not going to let it go. Besides, I think this is good for you too. I'll support your story. And I'll support your usefulness. Those monsters you made... they tore us apart." his expression went a little cold, "It was like fighting a whole little gang of Parahumans. Can... can you give those to other people? Will they follow the orders of others, or just you?" 

"They can understand the intent of what other people say at least. If I told them it was okay, they probably would." I admit. 

"If you sent out regular members, each with a monster with them that follows their orders... that'd be one hell of a force magnifier. The main thing that's been keeping us from rolling over the Merchants or those fucking Nazis is that they've got more Capes than us. If your'e a normal guy, you don't have a choice of whether to run or not when you've got a giant trash monster lumbering towards you, or a guy who's made of knives or hooks or can just wave his arms and send you flying." 

"Hm..." I consider it, "A lot of my monsters wouldn't last long in the face of Hookwolf or Kaiser." I admit, "But I have one that I think could beat them." 

He laughs, "Like I said, opportunity." 

He came to a stop behind a building declaring itself the Game Corner. Since it was close to 2 AM, it was of course closed, but I could see that the whole thing was supposed to be covered in neon lights. He unlocked the back door, and led me inside. The first floor was filled with arcade machines, which surprised me. Dad said most of them had gone out of business. There was a little one in the mall, but that was about it. But I saw that this wasn't just an arcade as he led me through a set of unmarked double doors, down a set of steps, and into a room filled with slot machines and game tables. 

"You know, this place should be seeing more business soon." he says casually, leading me down another set of steps, leaving behind the underground casino. "The Undersiders wrecked the Ruby Dreams Casino, which is why Lung was out for blood to begin with." 

The last floor wasn't really anything special. Just a break room and small kitchen for the staff, but as Archer showed me around, I saw that there were beds in a few of the rooms, and even a surprisingly nice office space with a good computer. There was also a large room, filled with machines. Well, not 'filled' but there were still plenty of them. Arcade, slot, and pinball machines, and tools and materials to _fix_ them. It was connected, I was told, by elevator to the garage in a nearby building. 

"I can tell you probably haven't had much to work with." Archer says, smiling at the way my eyes light up at the room, "It's not a proper lab, like we've got Bakuda set up with, but we had more prep time for her. But it's probably more than you have right now, right?" 

I nod slightly, and walk inside, going over the benches filled with tools. I basically just had handy what I could scavenge from a toolbox in the basement, and what I could jury-rig myself. I read online somewhere that a suspicious kid buying lots of specialty tools from a hardware store could clue people in to the Tinker thing. 

"You're welcome to stay for as long as you need." he said, grinning, "Anything you need, just ask for it, and I can probably get it for you. I don't make a _lot,_ and I'm not in control of the whole ABB's budget, but I'm willing to make an investment."

I look back at him, considering. "You'll really support me if Lung dies?"

"Of course." he said, "I'm already risking my neck out for you." 

"What about if he lives?" I ask.

"...Will he really corroborate your story?" he asked, "Because what you told me... it doesn't sound like him. I mean, you're _white,_ for one thing." 

"Not all of it." I admit, "But I think I could convince him to let me stay, and let me make... changes." 

"...Good enough, I guess." he said, "Either way, if it gets around that I'm your right-hand man, it'll be more respect and power in the gang than I have now." he holds out his hand, "What do you say, Rocket Rider? Do we have an understanding?" 

This isn't quite what I imagined when I considered the ABB over the Undersiders, but then, I wasn't expecting Lung to just keel over. It's still a lot better than what I had, which will be enough for now.

"Sure." I shake his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Part of me wanted to sit down and get right to work. A really big part of me, actually. Already, I was undressing the machines with my eyes, wondering what parts I could use, and what would have to be recycled or bought. 

But despite everything that happened tonight, a new partnership, new resources, new concerns and new plans, I still had a life waiting for me back at home too. Secret identities and all that. And I wasn't an independent adult quite yet, I was fifteen, and if I wasn't in my bed in the morning, Dad would be worried. 

The temptation to stay was powerful, though. It was only when I reminded myself that I had some parts and tools at home that could be useful that I told Archer that I had to head home. "Secret identity stuff. My family doesn't know about the Cape stuff, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

Archer frowned, "How old _are_ you, exactly?" 

"...I'm not eighteen yet." I admit, understating things a little. 

"Hm. Well, at least you won't appear very suspicious coming to the arcade every so often." he says, "I'll lend you a key for if you need to come in discretely. I'll give you the pin for the garage too. The arcade closes at ten PM. The casino _doesn't_ close, except on days like these when Lung wants me and the other lieutenants to make an appearance."

"Thanks." 

"No, thank _you."_ he said, smiling, "Now... these monsters of yours, how long does it take to make one?" 

Actually... "Not long at all." I say, "I can create one right now, if you want. Any requests?" 

His eyes go wide, "What do you mean, requests?"

"I don't actually design the monsters, but they tend to be a powered-up version of whatever I hit with this." I take out the empty capture ball, and then I take out Meowth's ball with my other hand, summoning her. 

"Meowth!" she cheered, once she formed out of the light. Archer took a few steps back, surprised.

"Meowth here was once a regular cat." I move my head to the side, and nuzzle Nidoran, who was still resting on my shoulder, "Nidoran here was a guinea pig. My big rock monster, Rhyhorn, was a lump of concrete." 

"And the other one? The anti-cape monster?" he asked, eyes glittering with interest. 

"A furnace." I say, "A big, expensive one." 

"So you could just use that on anything, and it would just make a monster?" he asked, surprised, "That's honestly bizarre."

"So, like I said, any requests?"

He considered it, "Can you give me some time?" he asked, "This is an important decision, it's basically an offer of _powers._ Being able to just _pick_ one- I need to think about this."

"Have all the time you need." I say, "I'll be back tomorrow. Now, the keys?" I return all my monsters to their balls, and stuff them into my pocket. 

He heads to the office area, and comes back with a normal-looking key, and a sticky note with a pin number written on it. The code for the garage, I assume. I pocket those as well, before waving goodbye to my new supporter. 

Now, I would be heading home. I had a _lot_ to sleep on.

* * *

When I wake up that morning, I head downstairs and look at the small dry-erase board held onto the fridge by a magnet. 

'Will be out late today. Money for take out's on the counter. Love you.'

This has been happening more and more often, lately. But, sad as it is, it's also been a godsend for my tinkering. After the locker, I made it clear I wouldn't be returning to Winslow. The bitches were just going to keep on escalating, and I wasn't going to survive whatever they came up with next. Dad looked into suing for a little while, but upon realizing that we'd probably end up in worse financial trouble, he gave up on it.

Since, I've gotten him to agree to let me focus on the GED.

This meant that I had most of the day free, and on evenings where he had to work late, the evening too. I do _some_ studying, but with my grades being what they were, nobody's really expecting me to rush anything. So, mostly, I just spend time tinkering, and training. The training was the fun part, mainly because it was productive. All my monsters had an instinct for battle, and an intelligence that lended itself well towards figuring out commands and orders. I spent a few hours each day making sure they know how exactly I want them to perform their attacks, and to what extent, and to what target.

The tinkering part, while it scratched an itch deep inside my brain, _wasn't_ productive. Each individual capture ball was the work of dozens of hours, and at least several failures, which was _immensely_ frustrating. Especially because I knew with better tools, I could cut down the failure rate significantly, and speed up production. And with better materials, I wouldn't need to pay so much attention to every single part, trying to reinforce the entire structure of the ball.

Six balls in six months was _pitiful._ In the future, I could see myself making six balls in six _days._ Maybe _more,_ if I have time and money to experiment with the construction of them. 

And, thinking of all that, I begin gathering up all of the supplies that I had hidden around the house. All my tools, all my scrap, all my spare parts, every bit of my works in progress, all the journals filled with sketches and ideas, the pet supplies I sometimes used for my monsters... everything. I stuff it all into a huge backpack, put on my costume, put a jacket over that (leaving the mask off) and then head out. 

Once I'm a good distance away from home, I stuff the jacket into the bag too, and put on my mask and hat. I summon Rhyhorn, and slip onto his back. "Come on, boy." I urge him forwards, and he roars in glee as we take off down the road. I keep Rhyhorn at a relatively sedate pace so that I can turn or stop him if need be, but usually, other vehicles tend to let me have the right of way. 

I find the Game Corner, and I have to say that it looks a little better with all the neon lights turned on. I walk past it, instead going to the garage nearby, putting in the number Archer gave me. It cranked open, and I walked in. After making sure it was closed behind me, I found the elevator that went down into the maintenance room, and breathed out a sigh of relief as I walked back into my new lab. 

I dumped my bag out on one of the benches, and promptly started to get to work. 

* * *

By the time my grumbling stomach pulled me out of my fugue, I found I was clutching the frame of a brand new capture ball. The first in a new design. Littered around me were cannibalized machines; two arcade cabinets and a slot machine. The slot machine was a lot more dense, to my surprise, with practically a whole computer, a lot of black plastic, a lot of heavy metal parts, and a safe deposit box that I had melted down to make the casing for the new ball. 

It would be the first of my new set. 

I walked into the kitchen, grinning, only to stop as I saw the group of people already waiting there. 

A handful of men, and two women, all of them watching me nervously. All of them with dyed hair, like Archer. Most of the men had dyed it green, once again like Archer, but the girls had blue and yellow, and one of the men had purple hair. 

Not sure what exactly I was supposed to do, I decide to ignore them and walk towards the fridge, looking for what they had ready for me. Archer had already volunteered whatever I needed, I'm sure he wouldn't mind paying for groceries on top of the other stuff. As I get what I need to make a sandwich, one of the women comes forwards, smiling, but it was a little strained, "So, uh, you're that new Cape that Archer brought on. Rocket, right?" 

I look at her, "Uh, yeah. Rocket Rider." 

"Right! Sorry. So, um, we've all kind of been wondering- we've been hearing the clanking and soldering all morning, and-"

"Are you building a missile in there?" one of the men cuts in, stopping the woman from continuing her mumbling. 

"What? No." 

The woman's smile becomes a lot more genuine, "See! I told you!" she tells the others, before turning back to me, "You don't build actual rockets, you build big creatures you can ride on!" 

"Only two of them are that big. But, yeah. I create monsters." I say, before turning to reassure the man, "Nothing that explodes." 

"What do you owe Archer?" another man asks. 

"What does Archer owe _you?"_ the other woman adds in. 

"I needed a proper lab, and wanted into the ABB." I say, shrugging, and turning back to my sandwich, "So, uh, do you guys... live here?" I ask awkwardly. But to be fair, I haven't socialized too much in the last few months, and they were all adults where I was just a kid. 

We got to talking, and I found that all of them were members of Archer's old smallish gang, before Lung showed up. There were others, but those others apparently identified more with the ABB than with Archer, nowadays. Most of them didn't live beneath the Game Corner, only the two girls, Rion and Sana, did. And apparently that was only temporary, but all of them did spend a lot of their time down here. Apparently, Archer hadn't told them much about me, except that I was young, white, a Tinker who had free reign of the place, and their collective ticket to the big time. 

By the time I had finished my lunch, Archer himself was back down with the rest of the group. 

"So." he says, "What do you think of the lab? I checked in on you, but you seemed... busy." 

"It's wonderful." I say, "I'm going to be _so much_ more productive. I've only made a half-dozen capture balls in as many months. Now I think I could double that number by next week." 

"That's great news!" 

"So, have you thought about your request." 

"Were you really serious about that?" he asked again.

Sana, the more talkative sister with yellow-dyed hair, leaned in, interested, "Wait, you're going to make him a monster to ride on?" 

"I can't guarantee it'll be big enough to ride on." I say, "But it'll be a creature with powers like a Cape, which will follow his directions." 

"...I did have something in mind." he said, "But I'm not sure how to go about it..." 

"Try me." 

He considered his words for a few more seconds, "I want something that controls fire." he says. 

The room goes quiet at that, the others looking pensive. "You planning on making a power play against Lung, Archer?" asked one of the men- I haven't learned all their names yet. 

"Maybe, eventually." he said, "But I want something that can protect him from me in the meantime. More than that, I've seen first-hand how effective fire can be as a weapon, and as a tool." he looks at me, "You can make it happen, right?" 

"...I don't know whether I could just use my capture ball on fire, like I could on rock." I admit, and he frowns, disappointed, "But I do have something that can do that." 

"Your anti-Parahuman monster?"

"Well, yes." I admit, "But not just it." I take out Houndour's ball, and hesitate. I wouldn't in a hundred years give up Nidoran, or Rhyhorn, or Meowth like this. I knew them too well, I've taken care of all of them, built real bonds with each of them. I had a stronger friendship with those three monsters than with any other living thing. But Houndour, I've known only a little more than twenty-four hours. In time, I know I could grow to love him, and even in just those twenty-four hours, he's been immensely useful. 

But this could seal my partnership with Archer too. Houndour would become tangible proof of the benefits of my joining his gang. 

But I still hesitated. 

I hit the button, and Houndour emerged, alert and wary. "Houn!" 

"This is Houndour." I say, "Houndour, look at me." 

The creature did, eyeing me, "Dour!" 

"Show me a little bit of fire, please, not as strong as you can, but enough to prove what you can do." 

"Dow-Dour!" it barked, before opening its maw, and letting flame burst out from it for a brief second, before closing again. 

"Good boy." I say, rubbing him under the chin. He leans into the touch, and wags his tail and- 

And... 

I pull away. The tail stops wagging.

I look to Archer, who is staring at the monsterified dog, eyes wide, "My monsters usually have a small variety of parahuman abilities, that I can call for them do on command. I call them 'Attacks'." I say, "I've only had Houndour for a short time, though. I only know one of his Attacks for sure, something called 'Ember', in which he unleashes a burst of flame. He'll develop more powers in time. If he's anything like one of my other monsters, he'll probably get powers related to his teeth and claws as well, or develop different ways of using fire."

Archer looks up at me, "You're going to let me use him?" 

"If he accepts it. We don't know for sure if they only follow my orders, or if they can follow anyone's." I take out Houndour's ball, and pass it over to Archer, "Do you want him? Or should I try to create a different fire-controlling monster?" 

"I'll take him." he says, accepting the ball, "Thank you." 

Houndour looks at me for a few seconds, before letting out a happy bark, and rushing to his new master. I feel a little sad. Are they loyal to whoever holds their capture ball? That could be dangerous, if anyone ever tried to use them against me. I'll have to keep a close guard on them, then. 

He squats down, and Houndour rushes into his arms, licking at his face. 

"Are you sure that's safe, Archer?" one of the men asks, nervously. 

"Hahaha!" he begins laughing, "No, no- it's just like a normal dog! Hahaha! Stop it, stop!" Houndour doesn't stop, "Isn't he supposed to do as I say?" 

"I find that intent is important." I say, "I think all my creatures are at least a little empathic." 

"So he'll only stop if I want him to stop?" Archer manages, pushing down the creature, but still smiling a little.

"Houndour!" 

"Yes." I say.

"Well, damn." he picks up Houndour, then, looking him over, lightly touching over the bone plates and raising his eyebrows, "...I appreciate this, Rocket." he says, "Should... does he need to be trained like an actual animal, or does he just, 'read my intent' and do what I want him to?" 

"I find that training helps a lot." I say, "He'll have his own instincts, and just because he knows how you _feel_ about stuff doesn't mean he'll know the specifics of what you want. No, if he's anything like my other monsters, you'll have to train him."

"I've never trained a dog before." 

"Then I'll help you."


	4. Chapter 4

"Houndour, here!" Archer shouted, and the monster dog rushed back to him, wagging his tail. "Good boy. Now, go!" he gestured in a different direction, and Houndour took off, "Wait!" Houndour stopped, after skittering a few more feet, "Here!" Houndour whipped around and ran back to his master. 

"Let's take a break, he's panting." I interject.

"Right, right." he bent down, "Good boy!" he began to scritch Houndour right below the chin, in a spot the creature seemed to love, as soon as Archer stopped, the monster moved in closer, nuzzling his bone-plated forehead into the man's legs. 

We were in the a mostly-empty warehouse that Archer's boys had cleared out, one that we've decided would be the main area to train our monsters. And honestly? It was kind of a godsend. I'd done as much as I could in the basement, and after that, in public parks during the dead of night, but after a few... incidents, I had been avoiding them.

For some reason, I feel guiltier about the accidently crumpled playground than the crumpled police car.

I had Archer's men go out looking for things like punching bags, shooting range targets, and obstacles courses. Along with raiding a few different pet stores for lots and lots of toys. Monsters tended to be pretty rough on them.

Also, a huge fridge, containing almost half a ton of soda, fruit juice, and purified water. It amused all of Archer's people to find out that basically, you just had to give a monster a can of coke, and they'd be well on their way to recovering from a bullet wound. 

"After you have him rest for a while, I think we should work on attacking on demand, and falling back." I say, "As it is, all my monsters attacked on instinct at first, which caused some problems when Nidoran poisoned a few people I didn't want her to. You have to make sure that Houndour will only attack when you give him the order to, otherwise, you might be dealing with a fire starting whenever he's spooked or angry." 

He nods, "What did you do for Nidoran?" 

"All my monsters had to use a different strategy, considering they do different things." I say, "For Houndour... actually Nidoran probably _is_ the closest, since their most dangerous attacks are both ranged." I bring out Nidoran, and she quickly orients on Houndour, narrowing her eyes. Houndour did the same thing, their focus on each other, a strange kind of tension suddenly erupting. 

Nidoran had never reacted like this to any of my other monsters before. I wonder if she could inherently sense that Houndour wasn't 'mine' any more. Houndour began to move forwards, growling, fire bristling up around his mouth. 

Nidoran, however, didn't move an inch. She was waiting for me to give a command. 

"...It seems like they want to fight." I say, "Actually, this could be a good exercise for them." 

"Having your monsters fight each other?" he asks, frowning.

"It's safer than practicing against Parahumans who are actively trying to kill us." I say, "If they have practice fighting each other, maybe I won't be surprised like when I went against Lung." 

"Fine by me, Rocket." Archer said, "So... should we just begin?" 

"I guess so." I say, "Nidoran! Scratch!" I point at Houndour, and my monster moves, rushing at the enemy. She lashes out with her front paw, the claws on it glowing white and lengthening, the same way Meowth's does when following the same command. 

It makes contact, and Houndour is forced back, letting out a small growl, before glaring at Nidoran and- I'm surprised as his eyes glow for a moment, and Nidoran winces, her spines all softening slightly. What was that? It felt like... a _Leer,_ to my mind. The name coming to the forefront of my mind the same way the name for Ember and the other Attacks came. I look to Archer, "That thing he just did- it's called Leer." I say.

"What did it do?" 

"It didn't _hurt_ her... but it _weakened_ her, a little." I say, "I've seen something like it before. Nidoran, Tail Whip." 

She flips around, her short tail glowing white for a moment as it brushes under Houndour, toppling the dog. When he gets up, he looks a little off, but not injured.

"Uh, Houndour, Ember!" Archer orders.

"Houn!" he barked out a burst of fire.

"Back off." I order, and Nidoran retreats from the heat, "Growl." it did a similar thing to Tail Whip or Leer, weakening those it's used against somewhat, but not actually harming or hampering them in any way. 

Houndour continued to chase after Nidoran, while Archer simply continued ordering him to use Ember, as it was the only thing that seemed to do damage. 

Nidoran, however, was faster, more experienced, and more options to her name, although I was holding back on the Poison Sting. If the PRT still haven't figured out how to get people out of the comas her poison puts them in, I don't want to-

"Houn!"

-poison Houndour. He had gotten too close, trying to land a hit that Nidoran couldn't dodge, and basically stumbled over her. And onto her spikes. 

"Houndour, what- that purple stuff, that's your poison, right?" Archer asked, worry creeping into his voice. 

"Don't worry yet." I say, "My monsters are a lot easier to treat and heal than people are." 

"For conventional shit, sure. But have you used your poison on any of your other monsters?"

"No." I admit, worry prickling at me, too.

He winced again, but didn't say anything. We went to the fridge, and got a can for Houndour, and another for Nidoran, although the only attack she took was 'Leer'. 

Unfortunately, the poison wasn't decreasing. 

"Shit." Archer muttered, looking down at his monster. Houndour wasn't too out of it yet, but he was clearly losing the battle against the bright-purple toxin in his system. 

"Don't give up on him." I chide, "I only found out soda worked well the other day, before, I had them eating lots of different kinds of foods. They all healed, but in different ways." I look deeper inside the fridge they had provided, and get out a few bottles of juice- each bottle a different kind. 

Apple juice didn't do much but make him less tired-seeming. Lemonade healed the puncture wound completely, but the purple stayed behind. In fact, lemonade seemed a little better than soda at healing. I made a mental note of it, and then tried the next few types. Orange juice healed, but not as much as soda or lemonade. When we tried the plum juice, however, the purple vanished as soon as Houndour swallowed, the entire blemish ceasing to exist practically all at once. 

Archer let out a sigh of relief. 

I look at him, "Is there a way you can contact the people treating all the men I poisoned when I was fighting Lung?" 

"Wait... you think plum juice will heal them, too? But they're human." 

"I just think we could give it a try." I say, "Maybe Nidoran's poison is just counteracted by some mineral that's in the plum juice but isn't in the others."

"Well, I could make some calls to the doctors we have looking at them, but what do I say? If I tell em' we got it from you, we'd have to push up your big debut. But there hasn't been much change in Lung's condition." Archer says.

"Just say you heard a rumor from someone that they cured it with plum juice." I shrug, "Tell them to give it a try, at least." 

"Fair enough." he says, "Do you think that plum juice would help Lung?" 

"I didn't poison him." I said, "Something else happened." 

He looks at me questioningly, but he shrugs and lets it drop. 

We decide training is over, for today.

* * *

My Capture Balls were works of art. 

They were sublime in their simplicity. In truth, each one only needed four components. The _container,_ which could be just about anything, but if it wasn't strong, it wouldn't last. The _button,_ which has many jobs; an interface for the other two components, a signal of the status of the monster inside (although this was unnecessary, technically, so I haven't included any in the ones I've built already) and what you needed to open the latch on the container. The _circuit,_ which lined the inside of the container, carried signals from the button to the final component and back, and carried the energy from that final component.

These three components, technically, could be made without any tinkering at all. As long as you actually had decent materials and accurate tools. But if you had subpar materials and clumsy tools, then tinkering would bridge the gap, and reinforce something that would normally fall apart into something able to function as designed. More than that, I knew that by altering the materials and designs slightly, I could achieve all kinds of different specializations. 

The last one _did_ require tinkering. I couldn't really tell anyone what it was made of, except that computer parts, circuit boards, etc. tended to disappear from my scrap pile when making them. It was also very finicky, and a main point of failure. One slight mistake in the construction would leave it frying itself upon being turned on. It was the _energy storage matrix_. It was the part of the ball that consumed whatever I threw it at, transformed it into energy, and constructed a living decently intelligent creature that shared some obvious theme with what got consumed. 

I had decided that, after finishing up one of them constructed from the remains of my first wrecked slot machine, I should instead think of the future, and of the best way to produce as many as possible. I resolved to build matrix after matrix, and find someone else that could make the other, non-tinkered, parts without my input.

The one I was working on right now was an attempt to test this out. No tinkering had been done to the container, the button, or the circuitry, with the energy storage matrix taking up the majority of my attention. Since I had a computer to work on right from the start, and some_ real tools_, it only took two sessions to build. 

The first six balls I constructed so far were more-or-less identical. Completely gray in color, top and bottom, with a large red button. This one would be different. I use a smaller white button with a light inside it. I make the container out of the shiny metal used for the internal safe, and then painted the top half red, and the bottom half white, inspired by the bright-red seven on the white wheel from the lotto machine. It was completely smooth, and fit easily in the hand, instead of being just slightly too big. 

It would be a lot easier to hide in my pocket, too.

I place the newly-completed capture ball in my left pocket with my other empty one, and begin considering what to test it out on, before remembering that, depending on whether or not Lung lived, Oni Lee would likely try attacking me. Best to keep as many empty ones on my body until I knew whether or not I'd have to try and tag him too. 

I check the nearest clock, and curse. I lost track of time, Dad would be home soon. 

I begin to move for the elevator, to head home, when the door opens and Sana pokes her head in, "Uh, Rocket?" 

"Yes?" I ask, looking over to her. She seems worried. 

"Archer needed to talk to you."

Hopefully it would be something quick. 

I leave my lab, and head down to the main living area, wrinkling my nose at the scent of alcohol. 

There's someone I don't recognize, now. A woman. 

"Ariana, Rocket. Rocket, Ariana." Archer introduced. 

She was Chinese, unlike most of Archer's Japanese gang. She was also a bit older than him, looking more like she was in her thirties than her twenties. "Charmed, I'm sure." she said, holding out a hand. I shake it, and she smiles, a little smugly, down at me, "You're the bio-Tinker Archer picked up, right?" she looked back at him, "He showed me his puppy."

I nod, eyeing her suspiciously, "I am. Are you ABB?" 

She shrugs, "I might as well be." she sashays over to the table, where a glass of wine was waiting, "I wasn't really part of any gang, before Lung rolled around. I thought of myself as nothing more than a simple businesswoman, organizing the import and export of things that happened to be illegal. But nowadays, I only smuggle for the ABB." 

"Smuggle?" I ask, uncomfortable. 

She leans forwards, "You know. Drugs, weapons, new recruits. At least mainly. But I can get my hands on almost anything if I know what to look for. Recently, I've been importing rare materials for Bakuda." when my face simply showed the same confusion, she continued, "Lung's new tinker. She was famous a few months ago for almost blowing up her college. She makes bombs." 

I nod, then, before looking at Archer, "You contacted her to see if she could get me stuff?" 

"Ariana's a very helpful person to know." Archer said, smiling, "When she says she get her hands on anything, she meant it. Things like exotic pets, for instance. Or rare machine parts." 

I nod, considering, "I'll look into exotic sources of DNA later." I say, leaning into the bio-tinker angle, "But right now, I'm more interested in computer parts. And lots of them. The slot and arcade machines I've been using have parts I can use, of course, and it's more than I've had so far to work with, but honestly? The main thing I scavenge from them is the computers. The rest is just raw material, to be ripped up, recycled, or tossed away. If you can get me a few hundred used cell phones or old PCs? Then we could really be in business."

Archer nods, serious, before looking at Ariana, who was thinking. "Well, it's different from what I normally go for. You'd want regular shipments?"

"As many as you can get me, I can probably use." I agree, "What would you want in exchange?" 

"Uh, why not let me take care of that part, Rocket." Archer says smoothly, moving in between us.

I guess it would be his money we're buying this with, "Right, sorry." 

"Now, just wait a moment." Ariana said, intrigued, "I'll want money, of course. But what were you _considering_ offering?" 

Archer looks between us, sighs, "Ariana, you don't do the shooting and fighting part of the job. Why would you even _want_ a monster?" 

"A woman needs a bodyguard, this is a dangerous world, after all." she said.

I look to Archer, unsure. I _do_ have two empty Capture Balls right now. But I want to keep at least one free in case Oni Lee hears about what I did and tries to end me. 

He considers her, "How many shipments in exchange for a monster?" 

"First two will be free." she says, "That's fair." 

_"Two_ shipments of scavenged junk for one of her creatures? Her monsters aren't just souped-up animals, you know." he said, "They're basically Parahumans, but with the benefit of being completely loyal to whoever holds their remote, and without an agenda of their own." 

I frown, disliking the way he worded it. Although it was technically true. 

"I can't guarantee a specific power." I say, "But if you want something in particular, I could get pretty close."

"Hm..." Ariana considered it, "Something that can fly." she says, "Something that could carry things around for me without needing to rely on normal transportation, that sort of thing. Other than that, something poisonous?" she grinned, "I've _heard_ about what your poisonous monster can do. I can imagine it being _very_ helpful." 

"Hm..." it would be easy to get another guinea pig for her, make a second Nidoran. As for something flying, birds were just about everywhere. Seagulls, pigeons, crows, you name it, "I could make you creatures like that. Poison and Flying would be separate, though. At least with the DNA I have available right now. Which would you rather have?"

"How about two monsters for five shipments?" she asked, offering.

"Six." Archer pressed. 

She huffed, _"Five._ If I'm suitably impressed, then we'll talk about six." 

Archer narrowed his eyes, before nodding. 

"Excellent!" Ariana said, "How long will it take for them to be ready?" 

"I'll need at least the first shipment before I can begin constructing the material I'll need. I'll get one of them to you by the time of the second shipment." 

She blinks, surprised, "You work _fast,_ then." 

"A lot faster now than I used to, with a proper lab." I say, smiling a little. 

"Well then, I'll get right to it. Of course, if I'm swindled, or not appropriately impressed, future transactions won't be so friendly, are we understood, Archer?" 

"Understood, Ariana." 

She gave another short smile, before walking off, towards the casino hall. 

"Two monsters?" he asked, "Are you sure about that?" 

"You trust her enough to bring her into the base, right?" 

"Ariana Sio hasn't given me a reason to doubt her yet." he said, "But still, that's a lot of power you're handing to her." 

"I think it's what I'm supposed to do." I say, "With how quickly I can make Capture Balls, and how well they work with other people, I think my powers are meant to equip as many people as I can with monsters." 

"When do I get a second monster?" he asked, only half-playfully. 

I eye him, "I could do that." I say, "Or we could spread them around the rest of your group. You and I, being the equivalent of Capes with the help of my monsters, would basically make us worth listening to within the ABB. If your faction was made up of a half-dozen or more Cape-equivalents, it would make us the heaviest-hitting faction of the ABB." 

His eyes seemed to light up at the thought of that. "How long does it take to make a capture ball?" 

"A couple hours per ball." I say, "Less with assistants."

"Assistants?" 

"About three fourths of a capture ball doesn't need any Tinker-tech." I say, "You get me a few skilled assistants, and a steady supply of computer parts I could probably make more than one a day."

He nods, "I'll get right on it, Rocket."

"Good." I say, "Now, I really need to get home. I'm already late." heading back to the elevator, I consider what kind of bird to try and capture first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, the six "Capture Balls" that Taylor created initially using her own materials were all similar to the old pokeball used by a young Samuel Oak in the movie Celebi: Voice of the Forest. All the ones she creates from this point on will be based on 'canon' Pokeballs.


	5. Chapter 5

"Taylor, where were you? There was no note, no message." Dad asked, pacing in front of me, "Do you know how irresponsible that is?" 

Dad liked that word, these days. To be fair, he has been a lot more involved in my life over the last few months than he had been in the few years before. He was still gone most hours of the day, but those few he shared with me, he tried to get the most of. And I appreciated that. I mean, I managed to tear myself away from my tinkering to see him, to make sure he doesn't worry. 

But it also means that it makes moments like this... harder.

I considered telling Dad about my power a long time ago. But I was worried about the response I would get. It would have been one thing if that first night hadn't gone so terribly wrong, if I had just gone out, done heroic stuff, and went back home. But I've been straddling the line between hero and villain for a while now, and... well, I was firmly on the villain side as of my deal with Archer. If I told him who I was and what I could do _now,_ the consequences would be a lot more serious. Dad wouldn't tolerate my villainy, I didn't think. He would want me to turn myself in, serve my sentence, learn my lessons, and join the Wards as a reformed villain. 

Not that I'd actually turn myself in. But it would mean having to live at the Game Corner full-time, while Dad sat alone at the house feeling worried and ashamed of me. 

"Sorry Dad." I say, "I didn't mean to stay out so late." 

"Where were you?" he repeats. 

"At an arcade." I say, not meeting his eye. 

"Huh?" he wasn't expecting that. It's not like I've ever really showed interest in video games before, or that I had the money to spend a lot of money on something useless like an arcade, "Why?" 

"They were hiring." I said, "I was looking into getting a job there." 

"You want to work?" he asked, "But you should be studying. And besides, there aren't any arcades around here." 

"I can study _and_ work part time." I counter, "And there is. It's not too far away, it's over by the docks."

"Look, Taylor, I'd just prefer if you-"

"I can't just stay in the house 24/7, day in day out." I cut in, slapping down my trump card: Guilt, "Besides, we could use the money, couldn't we?"

He winces at that, looking away. "It's not in a dangerous part of town, is it?" 

"It's technically in ABB territory." I admit, "There's graffiti nearby. But it's not _deep_ into it, and it's pretty close to the boardwalk, so it's still pretty nice. But just in case, I'll always bring my pepper spray." 

He mulled it over, looking conflicted, "How did you even _hear_ about the job?" 

"On my run, one day." I lie.

"You went that deep into the city on your morning run?" he asked, shocked.

"No, I mean, I just saw an advertisement for it. It was at a bus stop." just keep digging, Taylor. Make the lie more convoluted. That'll help.

* * *

As awkward as yesterday's conversation was, I think the lie will help in the long run. I could give him money without it being suspicious- as long as it isn't too much. It also meant that I could come and go from the Game Corner without arousing suspicion, even at odd hours and at sudden notice. 

I waited until Dad was asleep, before going out to prowl the streets for prey. 

"Meowth~" my monster greeted me a moment after I summoned her. I bent down to rub her head, and give a little scratch under chin.

"Hey Meowth." I say, "What do you say we do a little hunting tonight, hm? I want something that _flies."_

"Me~Meow!" she purrs, before bending down to sniff the ground. She moved in a lopsided path, following various scents, checking corners. She's distracted by some loose change- she tends to be attracted to anything round and shiny. But after a few moments, she perks up, and takes off. I run after her, turning down street and alley, and making our way to the park. 

She begins to climb up a tree, and I wait at the base for her. I look up, following her light form even through the branches, and wonder just what exactly she's found. "Catch, don't kill!" I order. 

"Ow~meowth!" she replies. 

Then, I begin to hear cawing. Angry cawing, and flapping. 

Meowth descends the three, before leaping down to a landing next to me on the grass. A struggling and furious crow held under one arm. 

I grin, "That'll do nicely." I take out my newest Capture Ball, and give it a toss onto the poor bird. It disappears into light, vanishing into the ball, and Meowth takes a few steps back. 

It rumbles back and forth, before giving out a satisfying click. "Wonderful." I say, "Good job, Meowth!" I give her head a congratulatory rub, getting a purr in response, before picking up the ball, and summoning my newest monster. 

"MURKROW!" it screeches, before flapping its way over to Meowth, and bopping her on the head with its beak. The transformation was a big one. The proportions changed utterly, the crow's feathers going from black to blue, its beak and legs becoming a bright yellow. It's eyes became large and expressive, with a glowing red ring in each eye, with pupils as white as its sclera.

And, of course, there was the fact it seemed to have grown a hat and a bushy tail. 

"Mur-Murkrow!" it continues to squawk as it attacks Meowth. Its beak glowing white and becoming longer and sharper for a moment, just like Meowth's claws do when she uses Scratch. My power supplies the word _Peck_ for the action.

"Hey, stop that." I order, only for Murkrow to glare at me. Although, despite the aggression, it did stop. 

It huffed, before spreading its wings and flapping, up and away, back to the tree. 

A second later, a branch falls down and nearly hits me and Meowth. 

_"Meeeowth!"_ she hissed, backing off from the projectile. 

"Murkrow, come back down here." I order, frowning. This was the first time a monster showed defiance right out of the gate. I wonder why. Could it be something wrong with the new Capture Ball?

I hear cawing up above, along with cries of 'Murkrow'. I watch as Murkrow flies away from the tree, a regular crow chasing it. I wince, suddenly realizing what happened. Looks like this Murkrow had a partner, who doesn't appreciate their new shape.

Murkrow looks heartbroken as the normal crow vanishes into the night, before turning to glare down at us. "KROOOOOOW!" it dives, its beak glowing with the light of Peck. "Scratch." I order, and Meowth surges into the air, her claws glowing with a similar light. The two attacks clash, and Murkrow comes out of it worse, being knocked down to the ground. 

Meowth approaches Murkrow holding up one paw threateningly. 

"Murkrow." I say, and the new monster looks over at me, eyes narrowed and hurt, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. But I'm afraid the damage is done. We can keep fighting if you want, but that's not going to change anything."

It glares up at me for a few seconds before wilting, letting out a sad squawk. I move closer, and pick it up. It's surprisingly light, "Now... are you a boy or a girl?" 

"Krow?" 

"A boy?" 

It shakes its head no. 

"A girl then."

A nod. 

"Okay then, Murkrow. Let's see about getting you home." I hit the button on the new version of the capture ball, and Murkrow turned into light, vanishing inside. I do the same for Meowth as well, and start making my way home, only to stop at a small sign in the park near some bushes.

I leaned in, looking at it. 

"Stay back." I read, "Poison ivy." 

Maybe I didn't have to buy another guinea pig for Ariana after all...

* * *

"Astonish!" I order, and Murkrow becomes surrounded by unnatural shadows. It lets out a reverberating squawk that sends a shiver down my spine, and makes Houndour flinch back. Archer took a step back as well. Then, the shadows disappeared all at once, and Murkrow wasn't intimidating at all. "Peck!" 

The beak glowed, and Murkrow leaped into the air, before dropping down beak-first on Houndour. It still didn't move, scared stiff from the astonish, and faced the attack head-on rather than try to dodge. 

"Good work, Murkrow, come back." I take a bottle of lemonade from my backpack, and help Murkrow drink from it, before pouring the rest of the bottle into a dish for Houndour.

"Mur!" 

"Houn!" 

The two monsters seem happier for the battle, and the recovery. Archer, however...

"I hate shit like that." he muttered, glaring down at the bird, who ignored him, "One of the Wards, Gal-something, a tinker, he has this thing where he shoots you with this light, and it makes you feel things."

"Like what?"

"Like, suddenly you'll just start laughing, and you can't concentrate on anything, or instant depression. Or intense fear, like Murkrow here." he said, "It can be scary." 

"Why were you fighting the Wards?" 

"It was part of a raid on the boardwalk." Archer said, "Couple months back. Lung wanted a bunch of us in the area to go together. A few of my boys got captured, but I got most of them out on bail since." 

"...Would I be expected to do stuff like that?" I ask cautiously. I've been lucky enough to avoid fighting any heroes directly, but now that I'm officially in a gang, as a villain, that probably won't last long.

"Maybe." he says, considering, "If you just want to be a background Tinker, I'm sure that'd be fine. But with your monsters, you could definitely contribute to any kind of operation we want to run." 

"Hm." Now that the monsters were doing fine, I returned Murkrow to its ball, "So, how are we doing on finding me assistants?" 

"Not bad. I mean, we had that room full of machines for a reason. If they break down there's this guy, Gideon, who we call in every once and a while to fix them. He's not really an engineer, but he knows his way around machines, he's okay taking ABB money, and he doesn't sell people out." 

"Sounds good. Can we trust him?" 

"Sure." he shrugged, "Like I said, he hasn't sold us out yet. I wouldn't unmask to him or anything, but I don't see him taking that kind of risk." 

I nod along, and we leave the warehouse, locking it behind us before making our way back to the Game Corner. 

"So, I've been talking to my men, and I've been thinking about who should get monsters first." Archer picks back up once we're off the street, back to the safety of my lab. 

"Okay, who first?" 

"Petrel." 

"The guy who dyes his hair purple, right?"

"That's him." he says, "Petrel's one of my oldest friends. He's also basically my second-in-command. He's good at talking to people, and is probably the main reason why my old gang is still as unified as it is." he says, smiling, "Legally, he's also the manager of the Game Corner."

"Hm. What kind of monster does he want?" 

"I haven't asked, but thinking in terms of effectiveness- that poison that Nidoran uses. It's scary, it's long-lasting, and takes people out of commission." he grins evilly, "But it _doesn't kill._ We'll want a lot of those."

"We don't know if we can cure people the same way we can cure my monsters yet." 

"Even if we can't-" he begins, before he sees my expression, "...Fine, what would you prefer then Rocket? Everything else has the potential for being _lethal._ Fire, getting trampled, getting cut open. Nidoran's poison on the other hand just puts people in comas. Even if nobody can cure them, they're better off than going too far with any of our other methods."

"...Find a way to test it first." I say, narrowing my eyes at him. 

"It'll make stirs. If we cure one, everyone's going to know how we did it." 

"That's fine." I say, "If it can be cured easily that means we can use it as liberally as we want." 

"What if Nazis start carrying plums on them?" 

"Then we just need to take the ones still standing out before they can use them." I say, "It's not like we haven't been fighting them anyway." Archer sighs, and I go up to the door to my lab, "At least try it on the Azn Bad Boyz I poisoned during my fight with Lung, okay? I am working with you guys now." 

"Fine." he says, walking off.

I step into my lab, stretch, and then move right to my tools. I doubt I'll be able to make another capture ball today, what with training Murkrow, and not being able to afford being late again, but I could at least get a head start.


	6. Chapter 6

It's been about a week since I've first started working with the ABB, or rather, with Archer's faction of it. Lung still hasn't woken up from having his powers stolen, and by now, the rest of the ABB has started getting nervous. Archer and I have been discussing it with a few of his men, but we haven't decided whether to make a power play to grab the whole organization, or wait for the ABB to fall apart, and just start up a 'new' gang in the docks in its place.

The last few days have been busy ones. Ariana came through on her deal, getting me about a hundred pounds of old computers and cell phones. I handed over Murkrow, and she was delighted with her new partner. Archer also tried out the plum juice on the ABB who I had Nidoran poison. They recovered without a problem, thankfully. The only lasting effects were ones you got from lying in place fed by tubes for a few days. The hospital leaked the information, and soon, _everyone_ who I've put into a poison-induced coma was up and walking again. I also got my assistant. Gideon, a quiet Chinese man with glasses and wild hair, was called in by Archer, and accepted the proposition to build the non-tinkertech parts of my new model of capture balls.

Since then, I've been focusing on making nothing but the tinkertech energy matrices needed for the capture balls. It's cut down my production time by quite a bit, and now that initial capture-ball a day prediction has been met and surpassed. 

Not that the production rate is anything special yet. Just like, two or three a day. 

But considering what each one of these balls represents, I'm more than happy with what I've got. "What are we on now?" I ask Gideon from across the room. 

"Uh, if we finish with this one?" he asks, gesturing to his own work and my own, "That would bring us to twelve."

"Perfect." 

I take care of the last few details on the matrix in my hands, before taking the completed casing from Gideon, and putting them together. The completed capture ball was put onto the rack with the rest. 

"So, when do I get one?" Gideon teases, looking over our finished work. 

"When we start the next batch, I'll let you pick one out." I say, "Or I could make you a special one."

"Special?" he asks, "How?" 

"Well, you're my assistant. You'll only get the best." I say, grinning. It was kind of awkward talking to him the first few days, me being a teenager, and him being an adult, but I think it's good practice for Cape stuff. I've been trying to talk more like 'Rocket' these days. With _confidence._ He's good practice, "I've been having ideas for other designs, ones that will make the monsters I create start out stronger." 

"They start out plenty strong, don't they?" he asks. 

"Well, strong compared to normal animals, maybe. But as they got stronger, they started learning new Attacks, being able to use new powers. And they've gotten stronger, more durable, with greater amounts of stamina. As far as I can tell, they'll just keep getting stronger too." Meowth, for example, took a few months to learn how to use Scratch. Before, she could only use two attacks, one my power told me was Fake Out, a weak blunt attack that stunned people for a moment, and Growl, which made it easier to hit harder. After a few weeks of training, she could use Feint, and within three months, she had learned Scratch.

I'm sure she, and all the others, will learn more Attacks as time goes on, and get stronger and stronger. But I haven't had the time lately to help them train, what with my focus on Capture Balls, which is probably my only regret about spending so much time in my new lab.

"And these new capture balls will..." 

"Let them start out stronger." I say, "Without needing to train them up to that level." 

"Huh." 

"So, what kind of monster would you want?" 

"Something to help me with my work, maybe? Something that would be good at building things?" he said, scratching his chin.

"Oh! That's a good idea." I say, "What were you thinking?"

"Maybe we could try... a magnet? Something that would let them manipulate metal?" 

"We might as well try." I say, "Bring one to the lab in the next few days, and we'll try it out." 

"Wait, if I'm getting a monster, does that mean you'll want me to help out with fights, and stuff like that?" he asked, nervous, "Because, helping you build stuff? I'm cool with that. It's good pay. Kind of cool too, to be working with a Tinker. But fighting? Risking my neck? Nuh-uh." 

"I won't make you." I say, "And you won't have to make your monster fight, either." 

"...Alright." 

I nod, before pushing the rack towards the main room, "Get the doors." I ordered.

"Got it!"

He cleared the entrance, and I wheeled it out to the main sitting area of the Game Corner's living space. "Get Archer, tell him that I'm finished and it's time." 

"Sure thing, boss." Gideon headed up the stairs to the casino level that Archer and few of his men kept watch over, while I looked over the capture balls. I bend down to the second level of the rack, taking out a tank, and a case. I set them both down on the table, and give everything a final check-over. 

The tank contained a few feeder mice I got cheaply at a pet store, who looked healthy enough. The case contained a wide assortment of other things that might be useful, or rather, that might create monsters able to use poisonous attacks just like Nidoran. Poison ivy, cigarettes, a black widow I was lucky enough to find and put in a jar, bleach, and insecticide.

I waited a little while for members of Archer's group to file into the room, and fought back a grin as they stared, intimidated, at what I've set up. 

"Come on, Rocket." Sana whined, "We _eat_ at that table." 

"So, this is everything?" Archer asked, looking at the twelve balls I've lined up, as well as my selection of poisons. 

"Impressed? Guinea pigs aren't even poisonous." I said, "So, we'll probably get something even more effective from these." I gesture at the stuff in the case. 

"And the mice?" Petrel asked, looking at the tank. 

"An experiment." I said, "They were the cheapest things at the pet store, besides fish."

"Very well." Archer said, "Let's get started." 

I grin, and pick up one of the balls, holding it out for Petrel. "So, uh, how do I use this?" 

"Press the button." he does, "Now, press the ball against whatever you want to make into a monster."

The purple-haired man looked at me, shocked, "That's _it?"_

"My device are very user-friendly." I say, "A kid could use these."

"Well, uh, okay." he considers the poisons, before looking at the tank. He raised the ball over it, and then dropped it in. It landed on one of the mice, and the creature was absorbed inside the ball, vanishing in a pulse of light. 

The ball shook, and then gave out a pleasing click, to signify the capture had been successful. 

"Now, you can pick it up." I say. He hesitated, but with another look at Archer, he followed through and picked up the ball. "Hit the button again."

"Okay..." Petrel said, "Here goes!" he closed his eyes, held the ball away from his body as far as he could, and pressed the button. A red beam of light emerged, and took form. And then, there was a foot-long purple rodent. 

"Ra-ta-ta!" it chattered up at him. 

"Oh wow." Petrel said, looking down at the thing, "That's the mouse?" 

"A... Rata, now, I guess." 

_"Rattata!"_

"Rattata?" I ask.

_"Rattata-ta-ta!" _

"I'm not adding any more 'tas'." I say, "Is it one or two?"

_"Rattata."_ it admitted. 

"Two then." I look up at Petrel, "Congratulations." 

"C-can it understand me?" 

"To an extent." I say, "I think they can feel what you want them to do. Kind of... empathic. They don't understand the language, so much, as the desires behind it." 

He looks down to his creature, puts the ball in his pocket, and holds out one hand for his creature to smell. 

The Rattata leaps into the air, surges up his arm, and sits on his shoulder, sniffing the air and looking around. "He likes you." I say, warmly. I look at the other gathered gang members. "Now, who's next?" 

To my surprise, Rion stepped forwards, a grin tugging at her mouth, "Is that a fucking black widow?" 

"I found it in the park." I said casually.

She looks at it, nervousness and something else shone in her eyes... hunger? Ambition? She looked at the way Rattata was clinging to Petrel, and shuddered, but stepped forward all the same, "I want it. For my monster." she said, "It's going to be big, and terrifying, and poisonous as hell." she said, sure of herself, "And if we start using these things against the other gangs, it's what's going to be making me a big shot." 

I look over to Archer, who nods, and I hand her a ball. 

She presses the button on it, before looking at the tiny jar. "...I'm going to have to open it to let it out, huh?" 

"Try dumping it on the ball." her sister says helpfully.

"Yeah, I'll try that." Rion says, picking up the jar and flinching as the spider darted around the bottom.

"Oh, um, Rion?"

"Yeah, Sana?"

"If it bites you, try to squash it on your way to the floor." 

"Fuck you Sana." 

She unscrews the lid, and dumps it onto the waiting Capture Ball.

It gets turned into light, and the ball begins to shake. 

Rion takes a few steps back, but soon, it clicks as well. She moves closer, picks up the ball, and then presses the button again, letting her monster appear as well. "Well. That wasn't what I was expecting." she mutters, looking down at the smooth and shiny carapace of the big green bug on the floor. It's about a foot long, with a bulbous body more reminiscent of a tick than a spider. On its abdomen was a smiley face, rather than the red hourglass of a black widow. Its eyes were big and expressive, its legs were short and kind of stubby, and... it looked more cute than creepy.

"_Spinarak!" _Rion reaches out, picking it up, and the Spinarak looks at her curiously, before closing its eyes and making a happy trilling noise.

"I hope that's good..." she says quietly.

"Who's next?" I ask, taking the next ball. 

One by one, I hand them out, and the gang members use them. Proton, one of the other green-haired men, used his on a cigarette and got a bizarre-looking creature. A floating purple ball with a face, covered in holes that emitted smoke. On its underside were white markings in a simplified skull-and-crossbones shape.

_"Koffing!"_

Another uses his on the bleach, revealing a creature that looked like it was made of purple mud. It smelled... awful. 

_"Grime. Grimer."_

Sana goes for the poison ivy, which becomes a small blue creature with beady red eyes and skin with a texture like an onion. It was bipedal, walking around on two stubby legs, and growing out of the top of it was a a small bush's worth of leaves.

_"_ _Oddish!"_

The insecticide transformed into a huge blue bat with no eyes, and two tails instead of legs. 

"_Zuuuubat." _

Soon, each of the twelve balls had been used, and everyone present had a monster of their own. While there was only the one spider, one container of bleach, and one poison ivy stem, there was plenty of mice, insecticide and cigarettes. A couple of Koffings floated around the ceiling, puffing out foul-smelling smoke. Other Rattata (most purple, one black-and-brown) scurried around the floor, and already we've had to keep one of them away from the cupboards, and get one to stop gnawing on a table leg. Zubats chattered noisily back and forth, hanging from the lamp in the center of the room by their twin tails, their ears shifting back and forth to each other and around the room. 

Oddish and Muk and Spinarak stayed close to their respective owners, watching the chaos unfold with interest. Speaking of owners, I was kind of disappointed. A few of them were intimidated by the monsters, unwilling to go near theirs, while others were playing with them like pets.

"Okay, this is starting to get crowded." I say, "Everyone, monsters back in their balls." 

"How-" Petrel began, before Spinarak turned into light, returning to its ball.

"There's only one button, guys." Rion said, putting her hand on her hip, "Guess." 

More lights flashed, and the room was calm once more. "Alright! Now, I understand that this is exciting for everyone, but maybe a little scary and confusing as well." I announce, "So, we'll be heading to the warehouse I use to train my monsters, and from there, I'll give everyone tips on how to properly care for and use your monsters." 

We used the elevator to get back up to street level, and from there, Archer had vans waiting to get us to the warehouse. It was beginning to get annoying for me. Maybe I could make some kind of tunnel from the Game Corner to the warehouse? That could be useful. 

* * *

"Supersonic!" the Zubat opened its mouth wide, and the air visibly shook as sound erupted from it. The waves however missed their target, dispersing after a few feet.

"Use Smog." Proton ordered in reply.

The Koffing opened up its maw, and a thick purple smoke billowed out of its mouth, spreading quickly in the direction of its opponent. 

The Zubat flew away from the attack, but didn't quite get all the way out of the line of fire, quickly being covered by the fumes. The bat-like monster let out an annoyed screech, quickly flapping out of the cloud, but dripping in poison. Luckily, as we found out, most of the new monsters created today seem to be immune to it. More than that, all the poison used by the monsters, no matter what Attack or monster in particular produced it, can be cured by plum juice.

"Get behind it and bite it, use Absorb!" the Zubat's trainer ordered. It swooped around the battelfield, avoiding the quickly-expanding cloud of poison, and then dove down, mouth-first, onto the Koffing. The fangs pierced into the strange rubber-like flesh of the spherical monster, and both attacker and victim glowed orange. The injuries on the Zubat vanished, while Koffing grew weaker, but not by much.

"Koffing, send it to the ground. Tackle it." 

It let out a grin, despite the pain it was in, and spun around, flinging the Zubat to the ground, before descending at speed, crashing its full weight against the unfortunate bat creature, which groaned, unconscious.

"Break." I order, "Proton wins." 

Proton smirked, before taking out the carton of lemonade that had been set at either end of the impromptu arena. He poured some into a dish, and then raised it up for his monster to lap up, its wounds disappearing. On the other side of the field, the other trainer was feeding the lemonade drop by drop to his dazed creature before it started flapping up into the air again. 

Across the warehouse, battles raged. Rattata vs Houndour, Oddish vs Spinarak, Grimer vs Zubat, and so on. At first, I simply had them order their monsters to attack each other over and over, and watched it happen. When I found the names for Attacks, I passed on the information to their trainers, who began to be able to give better and better commands as time went on. Progress was fast, and as I have them battle again and again, they start getting used to how their monsters will react. Those who were afraid of their creatures have calmed down as their monsters demonstrate over and over that they are obedient and loyal. Those who were treating them like pets have begun to respect the monsters more as the Attacks smash into each other, and as their monsters recover from any wound simply by drinking a bit of fruit juice. 

We've been at it for hours. 

But, checking my watch, I see that I should probably head home soon. 

"Okay, everyone!" I shout, "Stop the battles!" 

Attention turns towards me, and after a few moments, the warehouse is quiet. I fight back the sudden nervousness of having the attention of so many adults on me, and remind myself to be confident, "I'll have to head out soon, so I wanted to give you all the chance to see what will happen as your monsters get stronger." I gesture to Archer, "Houndour, as you saw today, has already gotten stronger over just a few battles!" it could use Smog in addition to its other abilities, now, "If you continue to let your monsters fight, they'll only improve. And, if you all feel up to it, I'd like to demonstrate just how strong they can get!" 

I take out a ball in each hand. Rhyhorn and Meowth are summoned in flashes of light, and I grin at the fifteen gathered men and women in the room, "First person here to beat these two will get a second ball." I announce. 

That catches their attention, and Archer flashes a dangerous smirk as he points towards me, "Houndour, attack!" 

Others, not to be outdone, begin calling for their own monsters to go on the attack. Actually, only a few are hanging back. 

"Meowth, Scratch on anything that gets past Rhyhorn." I announce, "Rhyhorn. _Bulldoze."_


	7. Chapter 7

Rhyhorn reared back onto its two back legs, lifting his considerable weight into the air, before _slamming_ his feet down into the concrete floor of the warehouse. The ground rippled, pulsed with energy away from the impact, before surging out like a wave towards my opponents. Monsters were sent flying by the impact, bashed aside. The humans had kept away from the battles- as I instructed, and thus avoided the effects, although the ground shaking still had a few of them fall down. 

Archer's Houndour was down, as were all the Rattata, the Grimer, Rion's Spinarak, and Sana's Oddish. A few of the Koffing couldn't rise up in time, but some of the others maintained their distance with the ground, rising and falling with the concrete, and thus remained unaffected. The Zubat weren't affected at all, considering they were flying high up. 

They darted forwards, following the orders of their trainers, and that was where Meowth came in. Her claws glowed white, lengthening and sharpening, and she leaped out, knocking Zubats and Koffing from the air en masse. A few got back up, but Meowth didn't let up. Halfway through, she seemed to have a glint in her eye, and brought out something I had never seen before- the golden coin attached to her head glowed, and from it, came a hail of more golden coins, the projectiles knocking into a Zubat that had gone too close. _Pay Day. _My power supplied the name. 

But I couldn't let myself be distracted by it. I still had a battle to win.

"Rhyhorn, help out." I say, "Smack Down." 

_"Rhy!" _it growled out, before its horn launched out, another growing in its place. The pointed rock struck a Zubat, sending it careening down. The next did the same to a Koffing. Then, it did something else. This was a good day for learning new moves. _Horn Attack. _Like with Scratch, all that seemed to happen was that Rhyhorn's horn glowed white and grew larger, as it slammed its horn into an enemy while it was still attached rather than firing it like a projectile.

A minute or two later, my monsters were the only two standing. Neither had taken a blow.

A fierce pride swells inside my chest.

"This is the product of six months of work." I announce to the awestruck members, _"This_ is the power that impressed Lung. All of your monsters will reach this level eventually." but by then, my own will be much stronger as well. 

I petted Meowth and Rhyhorn, "Great work, both of you." I return them to their balls, and look over the floor, which was glittering with Meowth's newest projectiles. I pick one up, looking at it. I knew in a moment that it was real gold, mostly because my first thought is that it would make for excellent circuits. I begin gathering them up, as the others in the room begin to see to their monsters.

Archer walks over to me, looking at the coins, "Are those what I think they are?" 

"It's real gold." I say, smiling, "Meowth learned a new move in all that. Pay Day. Rhyhorn learned a new move too, for the record, but I think this is more interesting."

"That- wave of earth, at the beginning?"

"No, he could do that before I met you." I say, "I'm talking about when he made his horn glow." 

"I... see." he looks at the gold, "Are you going to have Meowth keeping making those?" 

"Of course. It's a free source of circuit material, after all. And whatever I don't need for making more capture balls, we can sell. Think Ariana could find us a buyer?" 

"They're _gold."_ he says incredulously, "Of course she could." he laughs, before looking me up and down, "Rocket, I want to thank you. Until today, I... wasn't really sure we could do this. I felt like I was taking a risk on you, but now? Now, I think we really could take the ABB by force. Maybe even take the _city_ by force, in a few months time."

"Good." I say, the pride from earlier not vanishing a bit, "When can we start?"

"Hm?" 

"Taking the city." I say, "Changing things, to be the way we want them to be... controlling the ABB, kicking out the other gangs, cleaning up the docks, and the rest of the Bay, when can we start?" 

He looks lost, for a moment, staring into my eyes, "...I'll ask around. But it won't be overnight. But, I think we're in an okay position to do it soonish. As long as Lung doesn't wake up, at least." he narrows his eyes, "Should I make that happen?" 

"Not yet." I say, suddenly feeling a little squeamish, I've killed people, I think, but the idea of just ordering a death to happen when the victim can't defend themselves still doesn't sit well with me. Even if that victim is Lung. "If for no other reason at this point than that I want to see how long it takes to wake up from what I did to him." 

"What _did_ you do to him?" he asked, "It's not poison. He wasn't purple."

"...If he dies, I'll tell you." I say, "And if he wakes up, I'll tell you. But until then, I'm keeping that to myself."

"Fair enough." he walks with me to the entrance of the warehouse, and texts for the van to bring me back to the Game Corner to grab my stuff, before I leave, he offers one last question, "When we do take over the ABB, are you going to be following my lead, or are you going to be the one calling the shots?"

I don't have to think for long, "You'll be in charge." I say slowly, "At least over the gang stuff. You'll be in charge of the money, of the strategy, you'll be the one who actually decides what the gang will do, Archer. But for all the monster related stuff? _I'm_ the boss. I get to choose _who_ gets monsters. I get to decide when they get made, and out of what. Is that okay?"

"Sounds like you're the one who'll be holding all the real power."

"That's because I literally am." I say, "I'm the one building the things."

"I suppose that's a good point." he grins, "Fine. An arrangement like that would work just fine with me." he says, holding out a hand, "You have a deal, Madam Boss."

"Don't call me that." but I take his hand anyway, giving a shake, "But now, I _really_ have to get home."

* * *

"So, we've been talking about the next step with the Pokemon-"

"Our _what." _I ask, looking up from my work and staring at Gideon.

"Oh, it was Petrel's idea. They're monsters that fit in your pocket." he said, grinning, "Pocket Monsters. Shorten that, and you have Pokemon." 

"That-" I shake my head, "I guess it doesn't matter what we call them. But the next step, what do you mean?" 

"Archer hasn't ordered the others to _do_ anything with them yet, but they're wondering what the first target should be when he does." 

"Target, like what?"

"Who we should fight first. The Merchants, the heroes, the Empire?" he shrugs, "A random robbery? What?"

"It's going to be later this week." I say, "Right after we debut to the rest of the ABB." I say. Archer had actually put a lot of thought into it, going all in. He had even put together a new uniform for all the monster trainers. Since they're basically Capes themselves, they're styling themselves off of me. Black hats, matching black outfits. And, of course, a big red 'R' on their chests. We still showed the Azn Bad Boyz colors though, with a bright green bandanna around each of our necks. Green and red. 

I was kind of nervous about it, to be honest. 

Lung was still out of the picture, but according to the hospital, he's been improving bit by bit, fading in and out of consciousness. Still, being out for nearly two weeks wasn't a good sign. But the ABB were faltering with his lack of direction. Bakuda has apparently started calling more and more shots lately, and there are rumors of her ramping up for something big. Oni Lee, for the most part, seems to be following her lead, but Archer told me that Oni Lee's been asking around to try and figure out where Lung went or what happened to him. 

If we're going to take over, now would be the best time. 

Nobody likes Bakuda, apparently. She's rude, unpredictable, dangerous, and perfectly willing to use people who annoy her as testing dummies for bombs with effects that wouldn't look out of place in the aftermath of a Slaughterhouse Nine attack. Oni Lee they respected, but for too long he's been considered the second banana to Lung. Always a follower, never a leader. But with the two of them in place, nobody in the ABB is willing to stand up and take the reigns.

After I finish up work on the capture balls I get up, stretch, and head out into the main area to grab something to eat.

The sisters are there, their Oddish and Spinarak out of their balls and eating some dogfood out of the nearby bowls. 

"Hey Madam Boss!" Sana greets, "Excited for the big day?" 

"I'm just hoping it'll go fine." she said, "Is everyone else prepared on the strategy for if things go wrong?" 

Both of them reach into their purses, pulling out bottles of plum juice, "Let the boys gas the place, and walk out the only ones conscious." Rion says simply, before smirking, "I'm kinda hoping something like that will happen, honestly." 

"I don't." Proton speaks up, "Oni Lee is no joke. Unless we're very lucky, we won't hit him right away, and he's likely to be the first one to try and escape. If it comes down to an all-out brawl, he'll probably kill a few of us." 

That sobers the rest of us up a little. 

The next two days are spent in a kind of nervous haze. I work on more pokeballs, (the name caught on, just like 'Pokemon' did) and I work on training my Pokemon. I have them battle each other, and I spar against other trainers. Petrel and Proton were improving the fastest out of the group, and his Rattata has become an extremely dangerous Pokemon, now that it knows Bite. I've been focusing on each of my monsters as well in turn, trying out new things.

While they learn new Attacks on their own, I began to wonder if I could _teach_ them attacks, too. By having Petrel's Rattata show Nidoran and Meowth how to use Bite, they learned it as well. I even pushed it a step further. Rhyhorn could manipulate the ground, I've seen it when he uses Bulldoze, the way he can form it into waves. So, I tried to lead him into using that ground manipulation for other things; namely, digging. I dug holes with a shovel, with my hands, with my feet, making sure he watched carefully. 

When he started mimicking me, I rewarded him with treats, the faster and more quickly he dug, the more I rewarded him. Until after a few hours, the action transformed into an Attack called "Dig". Probably his most useful ability yet. The tunnels he dug were large enough to crawl through, and he could dig them, and even fill them in like they were never there, in an instant. One of the first things I had him do was dig from the warehouse to the Game Corner, and then back again, and then back again a third time, this time just above the other two tunnels, collapsing them down into something big enough for me to ride him through. 

But soon, it's the morning of the meeting. 

I wake up early, and make a nice breakfast for Dad. He's surprised, and thanks me, and I smile at him. "I might be working a little late tonight," I tell him, "So don't be too worried if I'm not back by the time you get to bed." 

His eyebrows go up, "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with you heading home on your own in the middle of the night. Especially not so close to ABB territory." 

"It's fine, Dad." I say, "I have my pepper spray, and it's really not a dangerous area." 

"I'll stay up for you." he said, "And if your'e not back by ten, I'll go and pick you up." 

"Alright. Thanks, Dad." 

When he leaves, I brace myself a bit, before putting on most of my costume, and heading outside. I wait until I'm a good way out of my neighborhood, towards where the buildings are more tightly packed together, and put on my mask, my bandanna, the jacket, and the hat, stuffing all my hair up into it. 

I summon Rhyhorn, and climb on. He seems to sense my tension, because he watches me with gentle eyes for a few seconds before he obeys my command to head for the Game Corner. Time to make my play. Either the rest of the ABB sees the potential of my Pokemon and gets in line, or it'll be one hell of a fight. I just had to hope I'd survive it.


	8. Chapter 8

"What are you all _wearing?"_ I asked, shocked.

Archer was decked out in a completely white suit. A red 'R' was printed on his breast, and his hair was still green, but otherwise, there was no hint at all of the ABB's colors. As for everyone else, they seemed to have followed my example to a tee. Everywhere I looked, I saw black outfits, black pants, black skirts, black domino masks, black caps. On every chest there was an 'R' in bright red, and around every neck was a green bandanna. 

"Madame Boss." he greeted, grinning, "I just thought we should treat our grand debut with the decorum it deserved."

"By coordinating outfits!?" 

"Yes." he said, "After all, we're all basically Capes now. We won't be treated seriously unless we have one." he says, "Speaking of, you'll have to change." 

"What do you mean?" I ask suspiciously. 

"Well, we can't have you looking like a common grunt, even if all of this is inspired by your image. You're the co-leader, you need to stand out as much as I do." 

"But- why didn't you tell me this earlier?! I don't have any other costumes!" 

"Don't worry, it's not too big of a change. Just something to make you stand out." he gestures for Sana, and the blonde grins evilly, before pulling out a red leather dress jacket, a small black shield with a red 'R' on the breast of it. She jumped towards me, and I could barely react in time as she pulled me out of my current jacket and stuffed me into the newer, clearly more expensive one. I snatch it back with a snarl, and free my Pokeballs from the pockets.

"Sorry, Boss." Sana said, but her smile wasn't apologetic in the slightest. She looked me up and down, considering, before darting in again and pulling away my hat. 

"Hey!" 

"Oh! Now _that_ looks good." she snaps a picture with her phone, before turning it towards me. 

I brace myself, but... it does. It really does. I look confident, I look... pretty, almost, with the mask hiding most of my face. "...I kind of do look like a Madame Boss, huh?" 

Archer nods, "I'm glad you approve. Now, are we all ready?" he asked, looking over the group. 

He receives a scattering number of affirmatives, before nodding sharply. "Today, we're leaving that building either as men free of the ABB, or in charge of it." he announced, "Keep your fingers on those buttons, and orders to attack on the tips of your tongues. Be ready for a fight, but act like we've already won." 

We climb into our vehicles, and head to the venue. 

The meeting place was the fanciest Chinese restaurant in Brockton Bay, the Jade Dragon. A favorite of Lung's, and well-known to be supported by the ABB, although that didn't hurt its reputation much. The area around it was probably the richest part of the town under the ABB's control, and one of the most well-taken care of. There was no graffiti or gang tags spray painted on the walls, there were no prostitutes at the corners, and there was no litter on the street. Rumor had it that Lung even had a permanent residence at the nice hotel across from it. And despite being known as a seat of his power, the Protectorate didn't mess with it, not wanting to pick a fight in one of the few crime-free areas of the town. 

It was what I was kind of hoping to turn the whole of the Docks into, eventually. A place where you could go around without fear. A place under proper protection. Although, considering I was the one about to ruin this small sanctuary in the middle of ABB space, I guess I should hope for a place better than this.

We take two vans, the drivers dropping us off as near the doors as possible so we can file in without spending too much time on the street in full costume. While this was firmly ABB territory, and one could wear the colors with impugnity, not even the Protectorate can ignore a dozen people strutting down the street in obvious costume. The guests seemed to all get a little more nervous at once as we entered, although the staff seemed to take it in stride, simply guiding us to the stairs to the second floor. A few guards stood near the foot of the stairway, to prevent anyone who wasn't a genuine ABB member through. Archer was on the list, as were most of his men, who removed their masks briefly for the guards to recognize them by. 

I was briefly held up by one of them, but Archer simply put a hand on my shoulder and I was let through without a word. 

We made our way up the steps, and entered into the second room. It was thick with the stench of cigarettes, alcohol, and worse. The tables were filled with people wearing the colors. From those who went so far as to put on fancy suits, to those who looked like they rolled in off the street. Archer was at my side, arm still on my shoulder, as he whispered who was in charge of what. 

"Drugs. More drugs. Casino. Brothel. Pimp. Protection. Even more drugs. Robberies. Guns. Another pimp. Smuggling. Information. Lawyer. Blackmail." he filled in, flicking his fingers to direct my gaze. 

I felt my stomach turn a little, and was again glad that Archer was the first I found. Gambling, to me, didn't seem as bad as... well, everything else. I still understood it was manipulative and predatory, the same as any business preying on addiction, but it was easier, knowing that above my lab the only thing people lost was money, and the only thing they gained was money. But this... these were people who sold poison, who sold dignity, who sold weapons. 

I let out a sigh. 

And I was here to declare myself in charge. 

Or at least second-in-command. I know that I'll make improvements, it would be difficult to make it _worse,_ after all, but still. Just standing here with all these people made me feel... dirty. 

And, of course, sitting at the largest table in the center were the top lieutenants of the organization. Mostly men, all of them were ones who had put effort into a good appearance for the night. It was a round table, but there was still clearly a head, considering the goddamn throne seated at one end. A throne that was conspicuously empty. Sitting at the right and left hands of the throne were the Azn Bad Boyz' other two Capes, Oni Lee and Bakuda. Oni Lee was terrifying enough, a demon mask set firmly over his face, hiding every expression. He was armed to the teeth, wearing a bandoleer of grenades, dozens of knives, even a sword strapped to his back. He sat with his arms crossed, still as stone.

Bakuda, on the other hand, was somehow bit more menacing than the famous teleporting assassin. She wasn't as armed, wearing a bandoleer covered in strange capsules as her only obvious weapon. But it was the way she seemed to be full of nervous energy, the red-tinted lenses of her gas mask should have hid what in particular had her attention, but it just made it more intense for whoever she was aiming her glare at. She was twitchy, confident, and itching for a fight, with one of her own people if she could. 

The majority of the trainers all found themselves a table in the corner, our uniform grabbing the attention of anyone nearby, but when we made no sudden moves, most people relaxed. Archer and I, however, found ourselves making a beeline for the table of lieutenants. 

"Archer." grinned a man, "Who's your friend?" 

"A new recruit." he said, "And a Cape. A tinker, a strong one. Her name's Rocket Rider."

"I haven't heard of her." Bakuda said loudly, before aiming that blazing red glare directly at me, "What's so strong about you, huh?" 

"I can build monsters." I say, focusing on the confidence that I've been practicing during my time with the gang. I was strong. My monsters, my Pokemon, were strong. Strong enough to take out a dozen other Pokemon. I was holding all the cards here, they just didn't know it yet. I couldn't falter just because a would-be murderer was glaring down at me through a gas mask. 

"What, you a discount Nilbog?" she asked again, her mask modified her mask, making it echo slightly, "We already have enough dumb muscle around. Why do we need you?" 

"You seem to be _missing_ a monster. I'm just trying to fill in the void." I gesture at the throne, and everyone at the table goes still. 

Oni Lee stands up, "Kyudo-san, is this a power play?" he asks in a gravelly heavily-accented voice, "Just because Lung is away, you have the arrogance of trying to take his seat?" 

"You could consider it as such, Oni Lee." Archer said, "As of a few days ago, my faction of this gang has become the strongest." he announced, before reaching into his pocket. People went for their guns, and I did the same, stuffing my hands into my pockets, grabbing two balls, and pulling them out. On the other side of the room, our trainers stood up as one. 

Oni Lee was suddenly in our midst, swinging out at Archer with a knife. Archer threw himself to the floor to avoid it, but successfully called out Houndour. 

_"Hooooun!"_

"SMOG!" Archer ordered. 

Oni Lee didn't have much time as Houndour let the dark purple stream blast from his open mouth, splashing against the Cape's chest. Oni Lee began to hack and cough as he stepped back, waving at it, before a second one appeared on the other side of Archer and stabbed him in the back. 

_"Dour!" _Houndour screeched, whipping around and seeing his trainer go down, snarling and charging right at Oni Lee, his teeth glowing with the effects of Bite. He managed to cross the distance between himself and the Cape in an moment, moving faster than I've ever seen him. Oni Lee tried to stab at him, but the knife skittered off of the dog's bone plating. His glowing teeth bit into the Cape, reducing him to even more ash. 

It had all happened in a second. 

"Meowth, guns. Nidoran, Poison Sting." I call as my two Pokemon emerge, and immediately rush to get to work. 

I move to Archer, and ignore the dozens of flashes behind me as the other members of Archer's group summoned their own Pokemon. I began hearing opposing shouts of "Shoot them!" "Smog!" "Capes!" "Supersonic!" "Traitors!" "Poison Gas!" "Shit, gas, gas!" "Quick Attack!"

"You okay?" I ask, "What do I need to do?" 

"Fuck." he groans, "Just- fuck. I... this goddamn hurts." he's bleeding, really heavily. My eyes dart around, looking at the chaos unfurling all around us, but I don't see anything useful. I try and wrack my brain about what to do if someone's been stabbed. Put pressure on it, right? I press my hands into his back, only to pull back when he gives a pained wheeze, and warm red soaks my hand. Shit, shit, shit. 

I look around again. The purple gases of all the different Poison attacks are blending together, slowly filling the room, hiding people from view. The resounding sounds of guns going off begins to quiet down, and I'm hearing a lot more coughing than screaming. All of us have plum juice with us, so our people should be fine, but on their side, they should all be going down soon enough.

"Fuck this!" came a sudden scream, the electronic twinge marking it as Bakuda's. 

And, just like that, all the purple in the room is gone, sucked by the all-encompassing vacuum. I'm torn away from Archer by the sudden pull, sent tumbling across the floor, chairs, tables, people all getting pulled along with me. I catch a brief glance at a floating, pitch-black circle, like a hole in the world, at the center of the suction. An unfortunate man who was too close makes contact, just as I roll away. I hear a horrible, _horrible_ scream, and realize this is something Bakuda did.

Before all this, we had a plan. 

I brought along five empty Pokeballs. I primed one of them even as I flew, and then tried to chuck it behind me, at whatever it is. All at once, the suction stops, and I hear the sound of everything in the room suddenly hitting the floor and skidding a little bit. 

_"Nido!"_

My Pokemon rushes to my side, helping me up, before running back towards where the singularity was. 

I follow along, darting between others who were getting up as well. I see the Pokeball, now marked as full, sitting there. It worked. 

I captured a black hole.

I snatch it up, only to hear another electronic-tinged huff. "What was _that?"_

I turned to look at Bakuda, and see her reaching for the next canister on her bandoleer, and setting it into a rocket launcher- did she keep that thing under her seat? 

"Nidoran, Poison Sting." I order, and Nidoran does as I command, launching a barb Bakuda's way. The other Tinker started moving the moment I opened my mouth, and started running to the side, even as she lifted her weapon towards me. 

I hear a 'whoomph' as it fires, and barely have time to get my hand around the next empty ball to prime it. It whistled through the air, on a beeline for me.

I stare in horror as, in a flash of movement, Meowth throws herself into it from out of nowhere, knocking the canister to the side and being caught in a sudden explosion of white. 

_"MEOWTH!"_ I scream, staring at the spot only a few feet away suddenly covered by ice. It sticks out like a pin-cushion, icicles facing out in every direction, and growing, bit by bit. 

I lob the empty pokeball at the ice covering, before going for a full one. 

No more holding back. She might have just _killed_ one of my partners. 

I hit the button, and in a huge flash of light, Heatran appears. "Kill her!" I shout, thrusting a hand towards Bakuda, "Burn her up!" 

He bellowed out a warcry, before taking a running leap at the Tinker. She began loading another shot into her weapon, only to stumble, just like everyone else, when Heatran hit the ground again. He didn't stop moving, though, turning the impact into a roll, he kept on going, his skin igniting with fire, and obfuscating his body. Fire Spin.

The ball of flames rolled across the dining room at high speed, making a beeline for her. She fired another bomb, right at him, and for a brief moment, a bright electric-green waved poured over everything in a short radius from it, but Heatran didn't stop. 

The inferno collided with her head-on, crushing her underneath. Heatran unfurled from that spot, and I let out a gasp as I saw the horrible wound on his side, his boiling blood pouring out from a chunk of missing flesh.

But he didn't stop. He lifted both clawed forelimbs, and then drove them down onto the burning Bakuda, his claws igniting with a brilliant heat. Once more, he and everything nearby was hidden by the sudden churning wall of flame. It spun around them both in a vortex. Heatran waded out of it, limping towards me, but the fire tornado remained and continued to rage even as he followed his trail of destruction right back to me. 

**_"Heatran." _**he bellowed, pained, and I put my arms over his face, ignoring how blistering hot he was. 

"Good job, good job." I say, "I'll be sure to help you later, just hang on." I send him back to his ball, and sink to the floor, watching the fire tornado. Bakuda was dead, I knew. If the Fire Spin wasn't enough, the Magma Storm definitely would have been. 

I know I probably killed a few people, during that first fight with the ABB. And I probably killed Lung, even if it was taking a while.

But this was the first time I had _ordered_ my creature to kill. That I had done something with the explicit intention of killing someone.

I let out a shuddering breath. 

I couldn't afford to sit here. 

I get up, and hurry over to where Meowth is. The ice is almost all gone, the icicles disappearing into the now no-longer empty ball. I collect it, and then look at my partner. She's covered in a thin layer of ice, still, and Nidoran is standing nearby, trying to chip away at it with her teeth. "Meowth, are you alright?" I ask, but there's no response. I hesitate, before trying Meowth's Pokeball. To my relief, she goes back inside without an issue. 

I'll help her later, hopefully. 

"Madam Boss." I turn around, and see one of Archer's men, "We're the only ones still standing."

"Good." I say, "Follow the plan. Grab as many of the lieutenants as you can, and start bringing them down to the cars." 

He nods, "We, uh, we've got a lot of wounded." 

"Any dead?" 

"Maybe." he says.

"Just... get everyone into the cars." I look at the magma storm, which is only now beginning to die down. The fires it started, though, have only just begun. "This place is going to burn down, soon. Make sure everyone is out of the building." 

"Right." 

This... didn't go quite like how we wanted. But I'd take it. Now, to deal with everything else. 

The battle was over. 

_"Nido!"_

"Hm?" 

I turn to look towards my Pokemon, only to take a step back when she starts to glow. 

"Nidoran!?" I say in surprise, as she turns into light. Similar to when a newly-created Pokemon forms outside of its ball for the first time. Her silhouette then begins to change. She grows, bigger, and bigger, until she's twice as large as before. Her tail grows out, and she becomes bipedal, reminding me of a dinosaur more than anything else. 

I watch, in awe, as color begins to fill her back in.

She takes a few steps, surprised, before turning to look at me, _"Nidorina!" _


End file.
